


Connie Swap Episode 36: Aftershocks

by br42, BurdenKing, MjStudioArts



Series: Connie Swap [36]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anxiety, Art, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Momswap, Pictures, Romance, Slice of Life, Steven Universe AU, connverse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-06-25 16:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19749739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurdenKing/pseuds/BurdenKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MjStudioArts/pseuds/MjStudioArts
Summary: Rose and P2 are loose on Earth while the Crystal Gems, as a whole and as individuals, scramble to recover.





	1. Picking Back Up

Connie woke to the fire alarm, smoke trickling out of the kitchen while Peridot ran about making distressed noises. When the overhead sprinklers sprayed out fire suppression foam, breakfast was cancelled... as was any semblance of her morning routine because even the bathroom was ankle-deep in flame retardant foam. The spray was water-based, so Lapis would be able to clean up the house quickly, but she was out on Crystal Gem business so that'd have to wait. Connie used a line of horizontal force fields to keep from wading through the white, a change of winter-appropriate clothes bundled under one arm as she made her way to Peridot's workshop to get dressed for the day.

The lava flows smelled like mesquite smoke.

Peridot was waiting just outside the temple, though once dressed Connie willed the temple door open. "All done, ma'am."

The technician walked in, contrite and bustling, trying to move swiftly to the next task to distance herself from her botched breakfast efforts; life without limb enhancers was shaping up to be one of constant adjustment for everyone, but Peridot most of all. She led them over to where all eleven robonoids, including the massive Tik-Tok, stood motionless in a line, oblivious to the world while they churned through computations -- whenever they were done, Peridot should be able to unlock the holosuite in Citrine's room.

Using what looked like a Speak 'N Spell grafted to a ham radio, Peridot pulled Daneel from the line, the device allowing her to direct her robonoids absent her limb enhancers. The robonoid immediately scuttled over and scanned Connie, the Three Laws-endowed bot obsessed with Connie's physical well-being. 

"Daneel," explained Peridot after the robonoid gave a 'ding' confirming Connie was healthy, "will be assisting us in our efforts to salvage usable components from the warship debris; Daneel's superior sensor suite will be a boon to that endeavor."

With a nod from Connie, the three of them made for the temple door, halting when Peridot willed it open and they saw Wolf frolicking in the foam. The hound turned to bark excitedly at them, a big, white foam beard hanging from his chin while a small mountain of the stuff clung to his shoulders and back. Connie giggled, then laughed when Wolf's antics buried Daneel under a drift of the stuff, the robonoid emerging with a giant, bubbly bouffant.

Even Peridot cracked a smile, admitting it was a bold look for the bot, though she had to struggle to keep her bulky radio device from getting damp.

Since the porch was unstable and most of the stairs down to the beach had been destroyed, girl, technician, and bot all warped over near the Universe family barn. They were met a few seconds later by Wolf when he rocketed out of a howl portal, most of the bubbles lost in transit though his fur was still a little damp in places. Scrambling up onto Wolf's back, the three were then howl portal'd to the beach below the house: with the laundry room warp pad shattered, this was the only safe way in or out for anyone not capable of flight, at least until the front of the Beach House was rebuilt.

Jasper had been tirelessly hauling debris out of Beach City proper all night, piling it up in large, pink-tinged mounds a little ways north up the beach. The group turned towards the closest to see what of value could be found.

* * *

Wolf was hauling the heavier pieces out of the pile for Daneel to scan and Peridot to fuss over. Connie was sifting through the smaller pieces and focusing on her retaining wall of force fields, a trio of them there to keep the pile from shifting, when something caught her eye that made force fields a distant concern at best.

"Steven!"

Connie bounded across the sand to give her boyfriend a hug, their winter coats softening the tackle into more of an enthusiastic squish. The two embraced, Steven giving her an eskimo kiss by rubbing his nose against hers; somehow he always felt warm, even when their breath was fogging the chill November air. Connie, in contrast... 

Steven giggled. "You have a cold puppy nose." He gave her a faux-appraising look, as if taking her features in anew. "You don't have doggy ears or a tail so I guess you unlocked a new shapeshifting power: beagle snoot!"

She laughed and hugged him again, making a playful growl. Here they were, sifting through the wreckage of the very warship that had hung in the Beach City skies yesterday, and Steven could make her feel like everything was fine. Bursting with affection and appreciation both, she angled her chin up and gave him a peck on the cheek, adding, "I'm so glad you're here."

Steven went still, shoulders going stiff, the giddy dynamic chilled in an instant.

Connie's confusion gave way to understanding, the girl mentally upbraiding herself. She didn't need to go insubstantial to know the emotional turmoil she'd see. As she was stepping back to say something apologetic there was a clatter and a cry from behind her, Peridot falling backwards to avoid the rubble shifting as one of the fields winked out.

"Gah! Connie! Please maintain focus on your hard light constructs!" snapped the short technician, hauling herself to her feet while Daneel ran in agitated circles, scanning every individual present despite several being nowhere near the collapse.

Connie's cheeks, already a little flushed from the cold and Steven both, added a measure of shame to their coloration. "Sorry, ma'am." She willed the third field once more into being, walking back toward the gem's direction. That Steven fell in beside her, his hand taking her own was a substantial comfort.

"Find anything good, Miss Peridot?" called Steven while he offered Daneel and Wolf friendly waves.

Clambering to her feet, Peridot brushed sand from her outfit, saying, "Quite a bit of quality conduit; that can be spliced together with minimum loss of function, which is good given how fragmented everything is. However, we have yet to discover any intact computational substrates, power supplies, capacitors, or other high value items." The gem paused, adjusting the glasses on her face, and then asked, "Also, how is it you are here? Wolf returned you to your progenitors last night, and they were inhabiting the temporary dwellings in Crossroads along with the rest of the displaced residents." She glanced around. "It was my understanding that Beach City proper was vacant."

Steven smiled a tad sheepishly. "Yeah. I mean, the motel is nice and all but Mom and Dad decided that we'd come back; we'll just live in the bus until the house is all fixed up. Mom and Dad dropped me off by the Big Donut before heading to the house: they want to cover all the broken windows at home with plastic in case it rains."

"I see," said a puzzled Peridot. "Commendable initiative, I suppose, but it is my understanding that all such matters will be handled by the ruling body that usually effects repairs following gem-related incidents."

Steven's mild embarrassment deepened. "No, yeah, Mayor Dewey is already getting that organized but, um, I think Mom wants to be around since I'm going to be here too. She's a little... miffed with me running off during the evacuation and doesn't want me in Beach City alone." He blinked. "I mean, obviously I'm not alone," and his laugh was strained, "but she didn't want it just me and... you guys."

Wolf padded over and gave Steven's cheek a lick, one which, a corner of Connie noted with a bit of pique, didn't cause him to flinch.

Peridot wilted a little and Connie, chiding herself for being dumb and petty, grimaced, her gloved grip on Steven's hand tightening. "Yes," said the technician, "I won't fault your caregivers' impulse toward... proximity. Please convey my gratitude for them permitting us your assistance, as well as my express wish that their rebuilding effort be an efficient one."

The smile answering back was a bit more earnest. "Will do, Miss Peridot. So, uh, how can I help?"

Straightening herself up, Peridot said, "You and Connie can sift through that pile over there; it's small and stable enough it shouldn't invoke Daneel's First Law intervention imperative. Connie can bring you up to speed on what sorts of salvage should be brought over for scanning."

* * *

Jasper came and went while they worked, the Quartz delivering a small hill of additional salvage pulled from town before spindashing away to begin gathering the next load.

The work was tedious but there was that undercurrent of awkward between Connie and Steven which shifting through pink ship pieces let them ignore.

"Hey, Connie," said Steven, a chuck of crystal the size of jumbo sack of _Yupper Pupper_ -brand dog food held in his arms. Her boyfriend was looking over and past her, causing the girl to set her own salvage aside to follow his gaze. "Do you think Miss Lapis is on her way back?"

Out in the bay a colossal water hand was upraised, making a thumbs up that was at least ten stories tall.

"Yeah," drawled Connie. "She probably is."

A beat later and a blue blur soared overhead, a rumble of thunder trailing in her wake. The high-speed hydrokinetic made two more passes, each complete with its own sonic boom, --"This showboating is-" _BOOM_ "-likely a consequence of Lapis being allowed to break the sound barrier over Beach City airspace given-" _BOOM_ "-the damage from the warship's crash rendering the harm of a sonic boom quite redundant."-- before she made a tight spiraling descent and landed daintily nearby, long hair flowing impressively in the cold ocean breeze.

"Hey cuties," cheered the blue gem as she was greeted on all sides. "Guess who's got three thumbs and is back from space?" Lapis jabbed both thumbs at herself, the gigantic one out in the bay doing the same, "This gal," she finished with a roguish grin.

Peridot hopped over, the technician still finding running without gravity connectors clumsy work. Hugging the gem’s waist and looking up, she asked with a tone of urgency, "Did you bring the array data?"

Taking a step back, Lapis rocked on her heels, pleased. "Sure did, Dot." She fished a crystal out of one of the pockets in her harem pants, the gemtech equivalent of a thumb drive held in thin blue fingers. "Fresh from the Satellite of Love."

Peridot bounced urgently from foot to foot. "Swiftly! Convey me to the command center so I can analyze it! The temple antennas' signal reception is too poor right now for me to survey for additional spaceborn threats!"

As Lapis lifted the short gem into a bridal carry, Peridot cried, "Hold!" wriggling out of her grip to half-run, half-bound on hands and feet over to her radio device. Jiggering with the controls, Daneel chirped, scuttling over toward Connie and Steven's pile. Returning to Lapis, Peridot called, "Daneel should now prioritize scanning your salvage. Call the Beach House phone if you need to reach me. And don't attempt to enter through the porch; dangers to your well-being aside, it might very well cause Daneel to short-circuit."

"Yeah, yeah, Dot. Tinkertoy and the tykes'll be fine, now I've been meaning to..." but the rest of her sentence was too indistinct to hear as she winged away in the direction of the Beach House.

The work continued for a while, Daneel scanning the pieces and offering a chirp for the fragments to go in the 'keep' pile and a buzz for everything else.

Connie chewed at the inside of her cheek, wading through some complicated feelings. It wasn't that she didn't know what to talk about, really, it was that she didn't know what her stance should be regarding those subjects. Had she been wrong to keep Steven away from the handship fight? Well, no, because they'd survived only by the skin of their teeth and in a way that would have been impossible if Steven were along. But would things have gone differently if he'd been there? Asmi was quite capable in a fight, with force field control and resilience beyond what Connie had by herself. Could Asmi have saved them from being taken into space in the first place? But if they'd failed, then Steven could have been-

She shook her head, feeling like she was wearing a groove in the stuff of her mind given how often she'd followed this line of thought in circles. Desperate for something to break the ice, Connie did the mental equivalent of leaving the mic unattended. Which was why what popped out of her mouth was, "Wait? If it's just you and your parents back in Beach City, does that mean the Big Donut is closed?"

Her stomach added a warning growl: the Protes bars she'd snacked on earlier hadn't been a satisfying replacement for her missed meal. Wolf, who was nosing through various piles, looked up with interest.

Daneel chirped after scanning Steven's chunk of salvage, so the stocky teen walked it over to the 'keep' pile, his eyes on Connie as he went. "Pretty much," he confirmed. "I tried to stop by there on my way over, actually. I mean, since all the glass is broken, you can just walk right in and there's a bunch of donuts in boxes in there so you don't have to worry about them getting dirty so I thought I'd leave a list of everything I grabbed and pay after the town was all fixed up."

Connie's imagination caught up and she gasped, arms too full to also raise them to her mouth. "It must be swarming with seagulls!" she exclaimed. The omnipresent birds were aggressive enough when it came to scouring the Big Donut patio for morsels, so she could only imagine the frenzy that'd follow the store itself being wide open.

Unseen by either teen, Wolf started to slink away, licking his chops.

Steven set his crystal chunk down and started walking back to the salvage pile. "I was worried about that too but there weren't any gulls. I mean, some of the display case donuts had been pecked at and there were a _ton_ of feathers everywhere but no gulls. So I went inside but the second I tried to grab on of the donut boxes Wilford Birdley came out of nowhere and went nuts, squawking and pecking. I mean, I'm wearing a coat so it didn't really hurt, but it was pretty freaky so I left the donuts alone and ran off."

Connie offered her block to Daneel, receiving a buzz and tossing it in the discard pile. "Wait, so following some kind of post-societal crash, the Big Donut's pet canary is the master and guardian of the donuts?"

Wolf, halfway to disappearing around a pile of salvage, stopped then hung his head. With a resigned air he returned to his sifting through rubble, pausing to scent the air a time or two as he did.

Her boyfriend shrugged. "I guess so. It would explain why the seagulls seemed afraid to go there: Wilford really likes his baked goods. That's going to be really bad for his blood sugar, though," her boyfriend looking worried after the diabetic canary.

She shook her head. "That's so weird." Then she paused and looked at Steven, a finger reaching up to wiggle her ears. "That is weird, right? After... everything that’s happened lately, I'm not sure I know what normal is anymore."

Steven wiggled his nose in response, chuckling. "No, yeah, that's weird. Beach City is cool like that. Anyway, it's not just Wilford and my family who's still here. Aunt Vidalia, Uncle Yellowtail, and Onion are back. They're cleaning up their home and using Yellowtail's boat a lot like my family is using the bus, though I'm pretty sure Onion is going to spend most of the time looting the boardwalk."

That was... extremely plausible, Connie had to concede.

"Also, the mayor said he'd be back in time to meet the first cleanup crew, which is tomorrow or the next day," elaborated Steven. "He was telling me the government has these RVs used as mobile HQs for disaster relief, like after a hurricane or something, and he'll get to use one of those to live and work out of. He said they wouldn't let him put the big head from his van on top of the RV though, so he was going to have to print some banners to hang off the side instead."

It was weird hearing Steven talk so knowingly about the mayor's plans. He'd been deputized or something during the evacuation, Connie knew that much, but this was the sort of thing she'd normally have been along for even if she'd have let Steven do most of the talking.

Again, there was that unmoored feeling stirring in her gut.

Steven picked up a crystal fragment and then dropped it suddenly, whipping his gloved hand back with a pained hiss. Daneel noticed this and sprinted over, an alarm warbling as it scanned Steven. Identifying that the jagged piece of salvage had cut his now-bleeding palm, Daneel scampered up his lap like a particularly agitated baby mountain goat, a nozzle to dispense antiseptic spray jabbed aggressively in his direction.

Before Steven could get Nurse Ratchet'd, Connie hustled over, signing her intent as she went. She brought her forehead to Steven's, there was a yellow glow, and then she felt a sharp pain from her left palm, along with quite a bit of muscle fatigue: apparently those chunks Steven had been hauling were every bit as heavy as they'd looked. Then the world went silent, the cold on her face disappeared, and all her aches --hers and Steven's both-- vanished, present but not something she could feel while made of light. If she gave her gemstone five or so minutes then the cut and fatigue would be gone when she reverted to normal.

The first time Connie had gone insubstantial in front of Daneel the ersatz robonoid had gone into red alert panic mode, attempting to use built-in defibrillators to restart Connie's absent heartbeat. Orders to stand down were only Second Law-important while the health of humans and hybrids were First Law-important so there'd been no getting the robonoid relent until Connie had returned to normal and submitted herself to a barrage of scans and medicinal prodding. Fortunately Peridot had remedied that more than a month ago: an insubstantial Connie no longer ranked as even half-human to Daneel's metrics and therefore was not cause for concern. Instead the robonoid was pleased at Steven's sudden recuperation and returned to its task of scanning the salvage.

Steven signed a thanks to Connie, taking off his glove briefly to show the unbroken skin beneath. He then asked if she wanted a timer and she signed back ‘five minutes’; she hadn't taken the time to remove her own phone before turning insubstantial which meant it was now inaccessible inside her pant pocket. He tapped at his phone a little, gave Connie a thumbs up, then returned to work with an energized spring in his step.

Connie signed back her thanks but her real attention was on the 'scape before her. Technically there were two, Wolf's was visible in addition to Steven's, but it was her boyfriend's that dominated her mind's eye. Impressive, endlessly captivating, but... so conflicted. Something was really eating at him and Connie had zero doubts about what it was.

She'd left him behind.

Whether it was the right call or not, it was troubling Steven. And it was troubling Connie too. The two of them had been reluctant to bring it up, she suspected, but... Clenching insubstantial hands was pointless, the fingers passing through translucent palms, but Connie resolved that she'd bring it up directly once she was tangible once more.

Steven waved at her, pulling her out from her thousand-yard stare into a fractal reality only she could see. About a minute later the sensations of the world came rushing back, Daneel chirping as another being of import entered its field of awareness.

"Is the cut gone?" asked Steven, setting down his crystal chunk and sidling over.

Flexing her hand, her palm was still a little tender. Good enough; it'd heal fully whenever she next used her CP power. "Yeah," she muttered. Nibbling her lip for a moment, Connie straightened her back and looked at Steven directly. "Steven, I think we need to have a Destiny Partner talk."

Expression tight, her boyfriend nodded, the two of them finding a reasonably large and smooth ship fragment to share as a bench. Wolf was busy rummaging through a pile of debris, sand and pinkish salvage flying behind him as he did... whatever he was doing. Daneel scuttled a little ways distant to resume its previous scanning duties.

They each took a deep breath, Connie and Steven talking at the same time. "I know it's really bothering you that I asked you to stay beh-" // "What are we going to do about Miss Bismuth when she reforms?"

The two stared at one another, sharing a blink of confusion.

Connie was quicker to respond. "Wait, what I saw was you worried about Bismuth?" she asked, her mental gears grinding as they attempted to shift.

Steven quirked his head to the side. "That isn't freaking you out too?" A beat and he was wringing his gloved hands. "I mean, yeah, your thing is… also a thing," and his voice was a little pinched, "but not like this."

Connie was feeling a little off balance just then. Was this a dumb Connie moment? She'd hoped, with her CP power letting her kind of cheat, that she'd stop having those. "Oh." A beat. "What do you think we should do? About Bismuth, I mean."

"I don't know!" exclaimed Steven, audibly pained. "Hold a trial? I'm not a lawyer; I'm not even good at the _Phoenix Wright_ games! Do we put her on, like, gem probation? Miss Peridot was on that, wasn't she? But, like, we can't bubble her, even though-"

"Whoa, _bubble Bismuth?!"_ the words spilling out of Connie's mouth.

"Well, I mean, I guess we could put her in jail but we don't have a jail." Steven paused, thoughtfully. "She could build one but would that be mean or would it be okay because she'd probably enjoy making it?"

There was silence save for the sound of scanning and Wolf's muffled excavations.

"Steven, we're not going to jail Bismuth. Or bubble her. We're under attack, Rose is loose on Earth, and Bismuth was the only one who lasted more than a minute fighting her." Connie was going to run her hands through her hair but the winter clothes got in the way. "Also, P2's out there doing... something, and we need all the help we can get."

Steven grimaced. "Yeah, but when she reforms we shouldn't not tell her she's in trouble. That'd be all kinds of sneaky and wrong to just ambush her after we're done saving the Earth."

The (comparative) silence that stretched out grew heavy.

"She is in trouble," said Steven. "Right?"

Connie's shoulders were tense. "Um..."

Steven took a deep breath, eyes closing while he did. He opened them back up and said with a sad sparkle of solidarity to them, "Well, we can at least agree she was wrong trying to shatter Rose."

It was a terrible quiet that followed.

 _"Right?"_ asked Steven, the word emerging a little strangled.

Connie's head shrunk down even as her voice inflected up. "Maaaybe?" the final syllable coming out at a squeak.

"Connie..." Steven was quiet, his expression more confused than anything else. "Shattering is wrong."

Connie rolled her eyes, unable to help herself. "Yes, I know that, Steven. But Bismuth was trying to shatter Rose Quartz."

Steven looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for the other half of her argument. "And...?" he added eventually.

"And," said Connie, matching Steven's incredulity, "she's Rose Quartz. The gem who betrayed the Rebellion, who serves the Diamonds, who almost single-handedly defeated the Crystal Gems, and who was commanding the ship that nearly vaporized Beach City!" Louder now, Connie added, "She's the scariest person I've ever met, everyone thinks she's pure evil, and a part of me hasn't stopped screaming in fear or rage since she showed up!"

A long second stretched into two as Steven studied her face. "Your mom didn't think she was evil," he answered, words soft where Connie's were harsh.

Connie's mouth flew open but she found, to her considerable annoyance, that there weren't words there to reply with.

Steven continued. "She loved Rose and asked us, well, asked you to try and help her. I haven't met Rose-" and Connie flinched, that touching dangerously close to a whole other can of worms she was suddenly feeling much less determined to open. "-but she's still a person. She doesn't deserve to be shattered and Bismuth was wrong to try to do it."

"But Steven, you don't get it. You can't just beat Rose. She's self-healing, with ridiculous defenses on top of being scary-good at fighting. I'm not sure it's really possible to poof Rose, not if she didn't let you. I mean, Peridot took off her arm and Rose just _grew it back_ before running her down and ripping her apart! Bismuth's Breaking Point was the only thing that could beat her defenses, the only thing that could make her stay down!"

Steven rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, Jasper's supposed to be almost impossible to poof and Rose did it with a destabilizer, so maybe we need to use those. Didn't you tell me Miss Peridot zapped Rose’s arm away?"

Connie deflated a little. "Yeah, she did, and okay, that's a good point, actually, but..." She worried her lip, trying to badger her arguments into order. If she'd been debating with Peridot she was confident she'd fall into the right groove for it, but there was something about arguing with Steven that really tripped her up.

A few moments passed and Connie finally said, "She threatened to shatter Lapis and destroy Beach City if we didn't play by her rules of engagement. Why should we hold back when she won't?"

Unlike Connie, Steven didn't even need a second to find his words. "Because you make things better by being better. Even if Rose is evil that isn't, like, permission for us be evil too. Heroes don't kill and Crystal Gems don't shatter. Not on purpose."

"Citrine shattered Pink Diamond," countered Connie, hands going to her hips.

Steven blew out a long breath, eyes squinting at the distance as he thought. His hand went up to fiddle with his curls, his hair too voluminous to be contained by a hat and so he relied on big, fluffy ear muffs to keep the sides of his head warm. "Okay, maybe your mom couldn't help it. But that was because the other Diamonds were these super powerful leaders who could have wiped out the Earth if they really wanted to. Rose Quartz is scary, but she's not Diamond-scary, and she's certainly not three-Diamonds-with-a-hojillion-soldiers-each-scary."

Connie tried, she really tried to be as good-hearted as Steven. He was the kindest, most broadly ethical person she knew, and he was her Light Side coach for a very good reason. _Shattering is bad, therefore shattering Rose is bad_ , she thought, trying to put on her best mental Steven impression.

It worked, mostly, but even then there was a part of Connie that railed against it. She tried to listen very closely, to interpret what had her so disquieted so that she could vocalize it... for Steven's benefit as well as her own.

Slowly, as if speaking from somewhere deep within herself, Connie said, "You're right that shattering is wrong, especially with bubbling as an alternative. I mean, Batman doesn't kill people but given how easy it is for villains to get out of Arkham Asylum, that's a morally complicated stance to take. However, I'm scared that Rose is going to do something terrible to someone I love, something that I can't transfer-heal afterwards, something that can't be reformed from or rebuilt. If she does and we didn't act aggressively and decisively, if we didn't do everything we could to stop her then…” She shook her head. “Then I don't even know what, but it'd make what is by definition a tragedy a hundred times worse," and the shiver Connie couldn't suppress added to the emotional weight of her words.

Steven reached out and took Connie's hand in his own. "Heroes aren't heroes because they win, they're heroes because they win even while being the good guys. The Crystal Gems are heroes, and you're definitely a hero. You're the most heroic person I know, Connie." It wasn’t a flashy grin he gave her, certainly not the thousand-watt grin that dazzled Connie from time to time, but it was still bright and oh-so-earnest.

That was clearly meant to feel comforting and, on a level it was, but just then Connie could only notice a sinking feeling in her gut, like she'd just been given a test and was certain that, when graded, the score coming back would be a failing one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the episode bingo card, courtesy of BinaryGeek and other delightful theorists from the Connie Swap Discord, armed only with the episode promo, summary, and their own speculation. On a related note, bingo speculation/suggesting is open to all, not just the regulars on the CS Discord. If you want to get in on the fun, or want to join the ongoing theory discussions, feel free to drop by the Connie Swap Discord.  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	2. Looks and Feels

Connie was saved from further inner turmoil by three things happening in sequence. The first was that Wolf emerged from deep beneath a pile of rubble (the debris collapsing inward as the hound withdrew), padded over, and dropped something in Connie's lap. It was heavy, green, and about the size of a paint can.

"That's one of Miss Peridot's tech feet!" exclaimed Steven at the same time Connie asked, "Is there more of her tech in there, boy?"

Wolf sniffed the gravity connector, scented the air, then sneezed, shaking his large head. Clearly considering the matter settled, the hound then leaned in, receiving head and chin scratches from the pair as sand and pink fragments were worked loose from his fur.

The second and third things happened right after, Jasper jogging over with an armful of salvage and Lapis dropping from the sky.

Connie looked from gem to gem, suspicions rising. "Did you two coordinate arriving at the same time?" She had no idea why they'd want to do that, or that their intentions were sneaky, but a lifetime of low-key pranking had made her wary.

"I saw you and Pinky holding hands and looking into each other's eyes while talking something out," chirped Lapis.

"So you spied on us?" asked Connie, her voice flat.

"Big time," answered the blue gem, utterly unrepentant. "I tried to get some snacks to go along with it but there's some kind of kamikaze canary guarding yonder snack shack, so I had to settle for making funny voices and little smoochy sounds while circling overhead."

Connie and Steven turned in Jasper's direction. "Same." A beat. "Only not. Didn't want to interrupt." She proceeded to unload her heaping pile of pink onto the rubble Wolf had been digging under not a minute ago.

Without really understanding why, Connie scooched a little away from Steven, her face flushing from, well, a bunch of feeling just then.

Steven spared her a glance, still giving Wolf's ears a good scratch, then said to the two gems, "We appreciate you giving us space to talk."

He looked over at Connie once more, reading in his insightful Steven way that she was retreating into her own head about something, and barreled on in an act of running conversational skrimage for her. "Oh! I've been meaning to tell you guys that I think your new looks are _really freaking cool!"_

Lapis winked, using her wings to hover up and rotate in place before hovering back down, offering a 360 degree view for those present. "Aww, thanks, Curls. It's sweet of you to notice, though a look this awesome? It's really more of an eye exam." She skipped over and ruffled Steven's hair. "You pass."

Jasper brushed the dust from her gloved hands, the Quartz saying simply, "Thanks."

Laughing and struggling a little when Lapis' hair ruffle became more akin to a noogie, Steven scooched out of reach and asked while getting his ear muffs back in order, "Are those pants supposed to be like Citrine's?"

Lapis rocked in place, hands outthrust as if her thumbs were hooked on imaginary suspenders. "That they are. The star too. Rose is the sort of gal you tell off with more than just words."

Jasper gave a grunt of agreement, drawing Steven's attention, the teen asking, "And yours actually reminds me a lot of how I imagine Samwise Éowyn looks."

 _Oh, good, so it's not just me,_ thought Connie, clutching Wolf's sandy green find in her lap.

Jasper offered a hint of a smile. "Something like that."

"Neeerd," chided Lapis good-naturedly.

Jasper turned to face the gem, her stance relaxed but also poised, as if prepared to pounce. "More hair means more to noogie," she answered, a light-hearted threat delivered in her customary deadpan.

Lapis' hands wrapped protectively around her long, blue hair, the gem twisting away. "You fiend! You'd be sullying a national monument."

"Which nation?" challenged Connie, the banter forcing a smile to her lips.

Lapis shrugged, instantly nonchalant. "I dunno. Japan? Grab any random manga and you'll see _someone_ with blue hair on the cover. I think it's a law over there." Then Lapis hovered in a wide circle around the group, a single finger tapping her mouth. "While we're on the subject of looks, I've been waiting for someone to say it."

Connie and Steven shared a look, the latter asking, "It?"

Lapis stopped midair, hands thrust theatrically in Jasper's direction. "OJ's corruption marks! They're not the same color anymore!" Facing the Quartz directly, she said, "Spill it, Tigger, because everyone knows a tiger can't change her spots."

"Leopard," // "Stripes," corrected Connie and Steven, respectively.

"Those too," drawled Lapis.

Sure enough, the corruption marks used to clash visibly against Jasper's orange skin but were now a much more subdued brown.

Jasper shrugged. "Was able to change them when I reformed."

"That's not how corruption marks work!" cried Lapis. "Otherwise it wouldn't have taken a rage-induced epiphany for me to nix the sleeves."

Jasper's unflappability was ironclad. "That's how it worked this time."

Connie blinked, a thought occurring to her. "Hey, Jasper, would you mind if I looked at your mindscape real quick? I have a hunch."

After the Quartz gave a curt nod, Connie felt the sensations of the world vanish, four 'scapes available to her. She zeroed in on Jasper's, paying special attention to the areas where the pattern had been blasted, where --Connie had since learned-- Citrine had done something destructive to the gem's mindscape as a way to halt corruption’s progression.

Nothing looked unusual there and it wasn't until she switched back and forth between Jasper and Lapis' scape, contrasting the blasted marks in each, that she started to detect a difference. It wasn't anything definitive but with Lapis' there was a sense of repugnance that Connie felt. In Jasper's the sense was muted. They were both shocking --a part of her was deeply, instinctively unsettled by those places where the mindscapes’ pattern had been blasted out-- but if Connie had to fit a metaphor to the sensation, Jasper's looked like a beautiful landscape marred by explosives whereas in Lapis', the craters still had unexploded warheads lodged within.

In late September, Connie had made a frantic effort to stem a corruption resurgence in Jasper, combining her ability to manually correct a corrupted pattern with the inverted corruption audio tracks Mr. Universe had made in his recording studio/sound lab. In effect she'd managed to finish the work to save Jasper that her mother had started all those millennia ago, though Connie hadn't fully realized it until just now.

With Steven as interpreter, Connie conveyed her findings, encouraging Lapis to undergo the same some time, and not just for the chance to eventually reform with more muted corruption marks. She felt like a doctor goading a stubborn patient into taking preventative medicine. 

_Maybe I can ask Priyanka for tips when she gets back from her conference,_ she thought, mildly amused.

As she waited to become substantial once more, Connie looked down and noticed that the gravity connector had dropped through her lap to the sand below. Her mouth curled downward into a frown. Her talk with Steven had gone in an unexpected direction, revealing a new issue rather than resolving an existing one. She'd checked on Jasper and Lapis just now, even if it hadn't been planned. But if she was being like a doctor to the group, there was one patient left and there could be no doubt about her needing care.

The sensations of the world returned and Connie picked up the green scrap, carefully brushing some of the sand off. "Hey Lapis?" she asked, interrupting a conversation between the others she hadn't been listening to.

Lapis paused and looked her way. "Yeah, Con-con?"

"Can you drop me off at the warp pad by the barn? I need to warp home for a little bit." Turning to Steven she signed a brief apology for temporarily leaving the salvage work to him. However, her oh-so-empathetic boyfriend must have intuited her intent because he gave her an understanding look as he signed back an affirmative.

Lapis shrugged. "Sure, girlie. Climb aboard."

"Patrol after?" Jasper asked the blue gem.

As Connie walked over and got situated in Lapis' arms, Lapis answered back, "Aren't you busy de-pinking the town? Besides, we can look through more flower beds for a Rose to pluck if we go separately."

Jasper inclined her head towards the distant boardwalk. "Done in town. There’s more on the hill and cliffs, but humans won't be rebuilding there." A beat. "Patrolling in pairs is safer."

Lapis looked away and then back to the Quartz, 'accidentally' whapping Connie with her long blue hair in the process. "You worried 'bout me, OJ?"

"Worried about everyone," answered Jasper, gloved hands curling into fists. "And yes."

Lapis had been the first poofed in the fight outside the handship, the one directly threatened with shattering. If anyone got ambushed while patrolling alone, would there even be anyone to rescue? Connie was certain she wasn't the only one thinking along those lines, especially when a ripple radiated out across the waters of the bay, a tell of Lapis’ emotional state.

Lapis gave a nod. "Yeah, we can be patrol buddies, OJ. Back in a sec." She looked down at the teen in her arms. "You good? Got a good grip on Dot's foot? Alright, now, let's see which is louder: your best roller coaster scream, or a sonic boom. Hang on tight, girlie!" and Lapis launched into the air, ensuring every second of their thirty-second flight was eventful.

* * *

There was a chime and a flash of light that left Connie blinking her eyes.

Jasper had told her to keep one eye closed when finishing a warp so she could open it immediately after arriving, minimizing the window of vulnerability. Lapis had added that that's why pirates with two working eyes had worn eye patches: they could board another ship and flip the patch up when they ran below deck, one eye already adjusted to the darkness.

Lapis had a surprising depth of pirate lore, claimed it came from an old friend named Murray. Connie was pretty sure the blue gem was just pulling her leg.

Regardless, Connie had gotten a little lax about proper warp pad vigilance and so was dazzled for a second. That was why when there was a nasally cry of alarm and two consecutive crashes from the bathroom, Connie nearly tripped running for the source of the noise.

She couldn't even blame the stumble on the fire suppression foam from earlier since Lapis looked to have cleared all of that out from the Beach House interior.

When Connie reached the bathroom door there was a growl of frustration that ended in a wet sob and the sound of little hands impotently drumming against the tiled floor. The door wasn't completely closed --there was a thin line of light visible between door and door jamb-- but Connie slowed, transferring the gravity connector to one hand so she could knock.

"Ma'am?" she called. "Are you okay?"

"Connie?!" said a voice rough with emotion. There was a prodigious sniff and, in a tone that was trying and failing to sound calmly composed, "Yes, all is well. I just- That is- If you need to use the facilities, please give me a few minutes to complete my, erm, analysis."

Connie paused for a second, debating whether to act like she believed the obvious lie or not, when she shook her head and slowly opened the door. Peridot was sitting on the floor with her back against the bathtub. The towel rod was hanging drunkenly, only attached to the wall at one end, the towel on the floor. The shower curtain had also been pulled down for some reason and the short technician was struggling to get her legs untangled from it. Her cheeks were damp with tears and she looked up almost fearfully as Connie came into view.

"Actually, ma'am, I came to see you." A beat. "About you." She stepped fully into the doorway, Peridot's eyes instantly locking on the gravity connector held in the crook of her arm. "May I come in, ma'am?"

Peridot's eyes, wide and hungry, lingered on the gravity connector for another second before they rose to Connie's face and her expression softened. No, not softened. Crumpled. The gem sniffed prodigiously and gave a wordless nod.

The bathroom mirror was out of sight, the hodgepodge screens of the command center in its place. Connie didn't know what the assorted displays meant, but nothing was blinking red nor was anything flashing the word 'ALERT' so she was going to operate under the assumption that Peridot's tumble hadn't been because she'd spotted another Homeworld warship inbound for Earth.

"I have something for you," said Connie, approaching the gem slowly, her voice soft. She held out the gravity connector with both hands.

Peridot snatched it up greedily and clutched it to her chest. Glancing down at the gemtech prosthetic, loose wires and shattered circuitry fragments visible along the top, her expression soured. "What a great souvenir of that time Rose Quartz assaulted me."

Connie winced. "Oh, right. Sorry." She fidgeted with her hands. "I can take it back," she offered.

"No!" Reflexively Peridot's hold on the gravity connector tightened, the prosthetic creaking audibly. A beat later the grip loosened slightly and she asked, "You... wouldn't happen to have the rest?"

Connie shook her head. "Sorry. Wolf sniffed that one out and seemed to think it was the only piece still intact."

Leaving a few feet of space between them, Connie leaned against the bathroom wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She reached over and helped slide the shower curtain off the gem's legs. "What happened?"

For some reason Peridot's eyes looked larger now that she was shorter, which didn't make much sense since her fight with Rose hadn’t changed anything for the gem from the elbow up. "I had to climb up onto the sink to be of sufficient elevation to interact with the command center. I have yet to fully acclimate to standing without my prosthetics which was why, near the end of my examination of the orbital sensor data Lapis retrieved, I... lost my footing, toppled, and in my haste to stabilize I grabbed the towel rod for support. Being structurally unfit for my mass, the towel rod came partially free from the wall. The shower curtain was a poor choice of alternative, and, among other indignities, I became entangled."

A corner of Connie chuckled but that part of her was swiftly buried deep, Connie's expression remaining sympathetic. She scooted closer, leaning her head gently on the gem’s shoulder. "So you're okay?" she asked softly.

"Physically," conceded the gem. Then she curled in around her broken gravity connector, eyes watering. "Connie, I'm so-" A sob. "-So reduced. Feckless. Inadequate. We are under siege and at the precise moment I am most needed I find myself at my least capable."

Connie gave the gem a little room, using the opportunity to reach out and snag the tail of the toilet paper roll beside the toilet. She pulled a foot or so of slack and tore it free, scooting back against the wall. She ripped a four-inch section off and passed it over to her green guardian.

Accepting the paper with a shuddering breath, the gem mopped her face and then wiped her nose. "Tasks which once took me a fraction of a second are now the work of minutes or even hours when they are possible at all. The pitiable truth has always been that, as a gem created in Era-2, my merits were intrinsically bound to my limb enhancers. Absent them I am unfit for service." She took another length of toilet paper from Connie blew prodigiously into it. "Rose Quartz' assessment of me was quite accurate: poofing me was unnecessary after she destroyed my technological prostheses."

Her own eyes watering a little in sympathy, Connie tried to be strong. She reminded herself that this wasn't an episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ , where all emotional resolution happened with two or more characters bawling their eyes out. "I think it'd be a good idea to believe the opposite of everything Rose Quartz said until proven otherwise. I'm not saying she lied about literally everything, but I know for a fact she was lying some of the time."

Peridot eyed her for a moment, unable or unwilling to argue the point but not willing to concede it either. Connie took the moment to get up and actually grab the box of tissues off the bathroom countertop; she'd only snagged toilet paper before since it'd been in reach.

"But to address your point directly-" and Connie felt a quiver in her breast, a flutter of nervousness she tried to tamp down: no matter how sure she was of this, there was no walking it back afterwards and change was always a little scary. "-I had a realization on the way back to Earth, while you and Lapis were carrying me."

Peridot's face soured and she scowled into the middle distance. "Ah, yes. Another occasion in which I was inadequate to the task." Her bitterness melted away, replaced with naked concern as she looked at Connie directly. "Seeing you plummet was quite literally the most terrible moment in my centuries of existence. It was a matter of utter improbability that you weren't- that you didn't _perish!_ It is a mercy that even an Era-2 like myself does not require sleep because I know with certainty I would have nightmares of nothing else." She paused and stared at the opposite wall, her expression haunted. "Even closing my eyes for two consecutive seconds is enough for that image to rise to the fore."

This... wasn't going the way Connie had hoped. Scooting a little closer to Peridot, she reached out and gripped the gem's knee. "Ma'am, that wasn't- Okay, that was scary, but everything after that handship showed up was scary. We pulled through, if barely, and no one got off untouched. Not even the Era-1 gems on the team. I think we should just accept it was a- a-” Connie grasped for an appropriate term and, when she didn’t find it, used the first that sprang to mind instead, “-a giant ball of suckitude and not try to blame anyone."

She shook her head, frustration rising inside her because she wanted to comfort Peridot and was, if anything, accomplishing the opposite. Taking a deep breath, Connie blinked her eyes angrily as if willing the tears back into the tear ducts. "Anyway, what I realized on the way down was that I don't want to call you 'ma'am' anymore, ma'a-" Connie barely catching that reflexive addition.

Peridot blinked owlishly, clearly thrown by this seeming non sequitur. "Oh?"

"What I realized was that, well, all these years I've been calling Citrine 'Mom' but she never knew me. She may have loved her daughter but that wasn't me, it was just a picture labeled 'Connie' she had in her head. And she's not my mom, either! She's a picture hanging over the door!" With brazen audacity her tears had started to flow and Connie didn't seem to be able to get them to stop, not even after menacing them with tissues.

"She is your mother, though," insisted Peridot softly. "In the same way that Doug is your father; the terms are not revoked post-" She paused, only reluctantly finishing her sentence a moment after. “Not revoked posthumously."

Connie shook her head, hot tears leaking out. "Fine, she's my mother but she's not my mom!" She rounded on Peridot and, judging from the gem's wide-eyed flinch, Connie must have looked a fright: tearful and yet angry, as if she was going to bludgeon someone with self-worth until they accepted it. "You are! You always cared for me. Like, really cared for me. You always supported me, always loved me unconditionally. That's what parents are supposed to do. And Dad, he came back-" She sobbed around clenched teeth, her power sink shifting colors swiftly, "-but you never left. Either you're my mom or no one is! Otherwise the word is-" Connie sniffed irately, arms crossed forcefully. "Otherwise the word is stupid and being used wrong."

She focused through the tears at the green gem. "Don't you think so-" and she intercepted the reflex this time. "-Mom?" she finished.

Peridot rocked as if physically struck, her back thudding against the bathtub and for a second Connie was worried she'd unlocked some new power that punched people with words. Then the gem dropped the gravity connector without a second thought and threw her arms around Connie, a tearful babble flowing out. The words may have been indecipherable but the outpouring of maternal catharsis was unmistakable.

Things got pretty... indistinct after that, though that one irrepressible corner of Connie observed that this was, if anything, more _Crying Breakfast Friends_ than _Crying Breakfast Friends._

A tearful eternity later Connie heard herself saying, "And that's why Rose is wrong, Mom."

Still clutching her, green head resting on her shoulder, Connie heard Peridot say in a wavering voice, "How is that, dearest?"

"You raising me, loving me, being the most important person in the world to me wasn't because of your limb enhancers. It wasn't because you're an Era-2 gem and it wasn't despite you being an Era-2: it was entirely because you're _you._ Peridot. My mom." Somehow the tissue box was feeling a lot lighter Connie noted, wiping her cheeks while still clutching the gem. "That other Peridot couldn't have done that, no matter how new and fancy her limb enhancers are."

"They're so pristine," said Peridot in a hushed voice, unable to help herself.

Connie let the comment slide, driving home her point. "And the Crystal Gems are thick with super-duper Era-1s who couldn't have either. You would have made it work somehow even if your limb enhancers had broken fourteen years ago. And I love Lapis and Jasper but..." and she trailed off.

Peridot shook her head, her foam-like hair brushing against Connie's neck. "No, I take your point. The experience of them rearing you would have been… troubled. But, as deeply affirming as this is, my maternal capacity is not going to detect and neutralize a legendary agent of the Diamonds."

"No," Connie agreed, "but since one of the most important things about you, to me at least," the girl demurred, "isn't reliant on your limb enhancers, there's probably more that isn’t either. Rose certainly wouldn't see it because she's the enemy, and you may not even see it yourself either." Her grip on Peridot tightened and she said, "We all love you and if you need extra help now, that's fine. But no one else can do what you do, we all rely on you for reasons beyond what you used to wear. And yeah, everything kind of sucks right now but that doesn't mean you suck." The tears had found a second wind, reentering the metaphorical fray, which was why Connie's voice came out so thick. "I love you, Mom, and I believe in you."

Things once more got kind of... indistinct after that.

* * *

Eventually the pair managed to pick themselves up from the tile floor, going through some more toilet paper because they'd run out of tissues. They tidied up themselves, each other, and the room, though remounting the towel rod would have to wait for another time.

Using a horizontal force field as a platform, Peridot was able to finish her analysis of the data, confirming no space-based threats had been detected. Grabbing a notebook and listening as Peridot read off the figures, Connie wrote down the trajectories for the escape pods that had made it to Earth. They had no idea which one had P2 and which one had Amethyst (Peridot had been able to confirm from the handship bridge that both gems had departed the ship via pods), but it was a start.

The doom cannons' sensors had lost track of Rose's bubble before it had even reached the atmosphere which, combined with Rose's floaty powers, meant there wasn't really anywhere on Earth they could rule out as Rose and Pearl's eventual landing spot.

As the bathroom mirror swiveled back around, the command center screens hidden once more, Connie was pulling out her phone to text Steven.

"Do you have plans, dearest?" inquired Peridot, concern lines appearing on her face.

Connie blinked before realization dawned. _Ah. If Jasper felt like she and Lapis needed to patrol as a pair then Peridot would be worried about me and Steven going out._

"Yeah... Mom," and she grinned. "Steven said there were still shadow tricksters on Mask Island, which I was wanting to check out." Connie's stomach grumbled and she silently added, _After Steven and I grab lunch somewhere. I doubt Rose is hiding in that deli in Empire._ Seeing the gem's look of worry, she added, "That's one of the places I can be sure is safe from Rose given what negative energy pollution like that does to gems."

Peridot reluctantly agreed, although only after insisting they bring Wolf along too, asserting that she had quite a bit to do from her workshop. "Especially," she added, "following such a heartfelt and motivating talk with my daughter," and the two of them beamed at each other over the unfamiliar, but fitting, words for each other.

They hugged, offered a final series of goodbyes, hugged again, and then Connie finally managed to get to the warp pad. As the column of light engulfed her she remembered to close one eye before reaching her destination, which was why she was able to see Wolf and Steven already waiting for her, no blinking required.

"Hi Connie!" cheered Steven followed by a bark from Wolf. "Are you ready to go? I was thinking maybe we could stop at that deli in Empire first since-"

"-Oh my gosh, me too!" enthused Connie before her phone burbled. She fished it out of her pocket and looked down.

_* DoMa - 11:12am | Call me._

Connie swallowed. Given just how crazy things had been with the handship and everything that followed, past-Connie had pushed off contacting her dad --who had been away for business since her birthday-- leaving it as something for future-Connie to handle.

Apparently the future was now.

"Hey, Steven," muttered Connie with audible reluctance. "We're still on for Mask Island but I think we're going to have to do different stuff for lunch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The promo was drawn by MJStudioArts. The in-chapter art was created by BurdenKing.
> 
> Lapis' pal Murray is a reference to [The Lost Episode](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/28268220) which showed what Lapis got up to after running away in Ep6 and before coming back in Ep13.
> 
> Tune in Wednesday, July 17th, for the next exciting installment of _Aftershocks!_
> 
> I am oh-so-pleased to point out the outpouring of omake content that came between the end of Ep35 and the start of Ep36!  
> *) The second half of [Cyberwraith9's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberwraith9/pseuds/Cyberwraith9) hilarious omake,  
> [Connieswap Meets the Harlem Globetrotters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/46307923) is done - "With half a game to go, and seemingly no hope for beating their otherworldly opponents, can the Globetrotters rally to win their big Ocean Town exhibition? Eh, sort of..."
> 
> *) [Weren’t we destiny partners?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19396879/chapters/46158373) by [Darkspirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit) \- "Steven’s head is a mess as he tries to deal with Pink’s shards’ revelation and, more importantly, the tension between him and Connie. This happens while Steven, Connie, and the CGs are in Jasper's room, in Connie Epilogue of The Return episode."
> 
> *) [The End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/46308406) by [TheInvaderZim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInvaderZim/pseuds/TheInvaderZim) \- "At the end of everything, Connie and Steven reflect on their life together."
> 
> *) [Deleted Scenes - Episode 35: The Return](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/46309057) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "There's trouble in the bubble as Pearl and her new master make their way down to Earth. An outtake from Ep35Ch9."
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	3. Mahes-War and Peace

When Wolf warped Connie over to Priyanka's house, she was momentarily bewildered. Priyanka was at some kind of medical conference in Kansas, had left shortly after Connie's birthday, and wasn't due back for a few days still.

Then she remembered that her dad had been out of town too, out on business that happened to make Priyanka's home a convenient place to stay. Sliding off Wolf's back and giving the hound an appreciative chin scratch, Connie walked over to the porch with a determined cast to her features.

She faltered at the doorstep, however, acutely aware the following conversation would not be pleasant. Acting on an old habit from before her dad had moved to Beach City, Connie stopped and inspected her outfit, brushing free any yellow fur and tugging on a sleeve that was riding up. He wasn't visiting after months gone and she wasn't a little girl anymore, though, so she only allowed herself another minute of delay before she gave Wolf a final wave goodbye and rang the doorbell.

Her dad answered the door soon after, stepping aside so she could get in from the cold, then pulling her in for a hug after shutting the door. "Hey cute lass."

"Hey dad."

The two of them lingered awkwardly in the entryway for another beat before Doug, as if remembering that they didn't need to wait for Priyanka to also greet Connie, turned and led his daughter down the hallway into the breakfast nook.

There was a dining room in Priyanka's home, a large table of dark wood there to host as many as eight people at a time. According to Priyanka, it had rarely been used even when her son and ex-husband had lived here too. Instead, father and daughter sat at a much smaller table framed on two sides by windows overlooking the backyard and on a third by a kitchen counter; what wall space there was was decorated with vintage coffee shop posters in a mix of English and French.

However, instead of the little stand in the middle of the table laden with napkins and coffee sweetener, Connie saw some paper-wrapped sandwiches picked up from a nearby sandwich shop, a pitcher of lemonade, and two tall glasses set in front of adjacent seats. Dad motioned to one such seat for Connie and dropped into the other himself, filling his glass with liquid composure and offering to do the same for her.

She was quick to agree, snagging a sandwich and sipping the tart beverage as soon as he'd finished pouring. She eyed the noticeably emptier pitcher apprehensively.

"There's another pitcher in the fridge," her dad assured her, gesturing to beyond the kitchen divider.

She nodded and took another sip, clutching the glass with both hands. "So..." she murmured. A deeper drink this time followed by, "Um, what have you heard already?"

Her dad leveled her with a stare for a moment, a parent about to remind their child who asked the questions around here, then his gaze flickered down to the stone at her chest and he gave a long sigh, his shoulders sagging. Retrieving the phone holstered on his belt, he tapped at the screen. "Only what I heard from a short conversation with Greg --he was interrupted by the mayor, of all people-- and this."

He rotated the phone so it was visible to Connie. _Hands Down Invasion_ read the main article on _Keep Beach City Weird_. There were four images at the top of the page: the handship as it first breached the clouds, it weathering the Crystal Gem's light cannon barrage, it in 'finger gun' mode firing a beam, and lastly a blurry shot of it wrecked and plummeting.

Finishing a bite of sandwich --her stomach would brook no further delays-- Connie felt many questions rise within her but the one that emerged first was, "You read Ronaldo's blog?!"

Dad bobbed his head, a mirthless chuckle on his lips. "It is, I'm sad to say, the most reliable source of information about Beach City gem happenings, by which I mean it's the only news about Beach City gem happenings." He took a sip of lemonade and stared into the distance. "It has been since Dot Matrix's GeoCities site went defunct a decade ago." Focusing back on Connie, he added, "Though I only read it when I'm out of town. Steven pointed it out to me a couple months ago."

"Of course he did," muttered Connie, feeling a little embarrassed just then and not at all sure why. Taking another bite of her sandwich, Connie returned her attention to the phone, skimming the text though her eyes kept returning to the pictures up top.

The photos were surprisingly clear, which was unexpected for, among other reasons, the fact that she knew from Steven that Ronaldo had been among those evacuated from the town. "How did he-"

"A tripod and a telescopic lens for a phone camera," answered Dad in a dry tone.

"Those _exist?"_

Her dad shook his head. "Apparently."

Connie skimmed the article, grimacing multiple times, as much from the hyperbolic prose as the grim-but-not-entirely-inaccurate picture it painted. Leaning back in her chair she stared at the table for a moment before allowing her gaze to rise to her dad's worried expression. "How much do you want to hear about?"

"All of it," he said without even a moment's hesitation.

Connie took a fortifying swig of lemonade and absently nodded.

Her dad had to make a third pitcher before the tale was complete.

* * *

Dad stared blankly out the window into Priyanka's backyard. He'd been doing that a lot toward the end of the recounting. Well that and staring at Connie with worried intensity, a white knuckle grip on his glass. But now it'd been probably ten minutes of quiet and Connie could only eat so many sandwiches to fill stomach and silence both.

"Any thoughts?" asked Connie a touch meekly. She was almost certain that if she wanted to see the fractal-equivalent of silent screaming, she needed only reach out with her CP power.

Dad took a sip of lemonade, eyes still on the backyard. "I'm going to buy the gems cellphones," he said before taking another sip.

When Connie's train of thought derailed, there were no survivors.

"What?" she said eventually.

"Peridot always coordinated things, but did so with the tech she wore. Now I bet everyone is running around putting out fires or patrolling with no means to contact each other." He stared ahead, absently swirling the yellow beverage in his glass. "I'm pretty sure Peridot has a blind spot for off-the-counter electronics; that if she didn't build it from ancient gem scrap and a walkie-talkie manufactured thirty years ago then it wasn't worth considering. The gems need phones."

Dad finished his glass with a sigh as bitter as the beverage and then muttered to himself at a volume almost below Connie's hearing, "Maybe then I'll have an idea what planet my daughter's on."

She _had_ been in no hurry to fill her dad in on the details, Connie realized guiltily.

In a helpful voice, she said, "I can vouch for my phone as being really sturdy. I'm pretty sure if whatever you get isn't water-proof and nearly unbreakable, it won’t last long with Lapis or Jasper."

Her dad swiveled so he was facing her, expression taut but his mouth curled up into a wry smile. "If it can survive a fall from space-" and Connie pretended she didn't see him wince, "-then it can survive a day with a Crystal Gem. Maybe even a full week." He raised his glass only to discover it was empty. Shaking his head, he quipped, "If I reached out to them, Nokia would probably be willing to offer the phones for free just for the publicity." Miming a phone in his free hand, Dad said in a deep, gravelly voice, "The perfect phone for the Perfect Quartz."

Connie giggled, as much from relief as humor, then used her glass as a prop to say in a nasally tone, "I can attest that the Nokia tee-eye-forty-seven-ess-gee RagnarTök is the finest communicator paltry human engineering has yet achieved."

This earned a round of laughs from both sides of the table, ones that ran long as some of the tension leaked out of the room.

With a final chuckle, Dad nudged his empty glass to the side and said, "Phones aside, you're free to use the washer and dryer in my apartment until I can order replacements for the Beach House."

_Oh right, laundry,_ thought Connie, nodding and marveling slightly at her dad's levelheadedness. She suspected it was him trying to focus on how he could help from the sidelines; as much a way to keep from freaking out as lemonade.

He had experience being at the margins of Crystal Gem business, she realized. He'd been doing that even before she'd been born. She knew he'd tried to go on missions once upon a time but had ended up in the hospital with a broken leg. She briefly considered, with a cold sensation settling in her stomach, asking Dad if he could talk with Steven, help make her telling her Destiny Partner to evacuate somehow be not such a tangled mess. It was tempting, but she ultimately thought better of it: bringing someone else into Destiny Partner business felt _wrong_ even if she couldn't quite articulate why.

"Thanks," she said softly.

Father and daughter stared at one another for a long second, no topic rising to serve as a buffer between that whole _almost dying in space_ thing.

Dad, instead of rushing around the table and yanking her into a tight hug --a move she herself had used and been on the receiving end of with surprising frequency of late-- rose calmly from the table and approached his daughter, offering his hand. When she took it, he led her to Priyanka's comfortable living room --tidy except for a pile of medical journals dominating the center of the coffee table-- sat the both of them down on the couch, and then pulled her into a firm hug, her head coming to rest against his shoulder.

There was a shudder, a sob was bitten back, and Dad very calmly came apart, the man fighting down any theatrics, channeling it all instead into an embrace that attempted to leave as little room between father and daughter as possible.

Connie wasn't able to hold her own tears back quite so well, but she wept softly, allowing herself to be (fortunately only metaphorically) a little girl in her daddy's arms for a brief eternity.

A sniff overhead, then, "You're grounded, by the way." Her dad's voice was thick but there was a wry undercurrent that gave away his meaning.

Connie nodded into where her dad's chest met his shoulder. "Yeah, no going off the ground for me," she replied. "Mom said pretty much the same thing before we went through the handship's airlock."

She felt Dad pull back, putting space between them so he could look at her face. Damp eyes blinked and he asked, "Mom?"

Connie blinked back. "Oh, right. About that..."

* * *

Doug was sitting on one end of the couch --it could recline if you pulled a lever on the side-- while Connie was sprawled across the rest of it, head resting on an armrest while her feet were propped up on his lap. They each had a glass resting on convenient end tables: if there was one thing Priyanka's home had in abundance it was places to sit, read, and drink coffee (or, in their case, lemonade).

Despite the languid, almost cathartic calm that had settled over them, ice churned in Connie's gut. "Dad?"

"Yeah, cute lass?"

"Is it-" She paused to lick her lips, one hand rising to scratch the top of her head. "Is it wrong to try and shatter Rose Quartz?"

Her recounting of events at the table had included a description of Bismuth's secret weapon: a newly-forged Breaking Point. Plus, her dad had read Citrine's journal, same as she and Steven had, so he knew her mother's account of the original device, the one that had shattered Pink Diamond.

"Tactically or ethically?" asked her dad, voice not so much growing hesitant as sober: he recognized that the bubble of contentment between them was being punctured.

"The second one," clarified Connie, drawing her legs back and scooching so she was sitting upright instead of sprawled out. "Tactically it's open-and-shut: unless we get a bunch of high-powered destabilizers, it's near-impossible to poof Rose, and even with the destabilizers it'd be..."

She trailed off when she saw her dad looking at her a touch wistfully.

Dad shook his head in wordless apology. "Citrine would talk like that sometimes, especially when I first started asking questions about the war."

Connie ducked her head a little, embarrassed and not exactly sure why. She reached for her glass so she could hide behind her lemonade for a couple seconds.

Recognizing her plight, Dad cleared his throat and said, "Ethically it's... complicated. I mean, she's as close to an enemy combatant as you could get, and it's not like the war between Earth and Homeworld was ever formally ceased. Homeworld just packed up, corrupted every gem left on the planet, and left. So in that respect," and he too took a moment to bathe his thoughts in citrus before continuing, "it'd be no more unethical than one soldier shooting an enemy soldier during war."

Connie waited quietly, having a sense of what was coming next.

"However-" sighed her dad, reaching once more for his drink.

Yeah, that's what she'd expected, but her eyebrows steadily rose as her dad proceeded to knock back the rest of a tall glass of lemonade, wiping his mouth on his sleeve with a loud sigh, his brows furrowed deeply.

"However," he started again, "with the exception of losing Citrine, shattering a gem was the most harrowing and terrible thing I've ever experienced." He leaned forward, sagging down with his elbows resting on his knees. "Not that the two are exactly apples-to-apples," and his voice had grown quiet toward the end.

Connie blinked, looking around the doctor's house for... she wasn't sure what, actually. Sanity? Stability? That seemed like the sort of thing Priyanka would have had neatly bundled and at the ready, like the first aid kits under both kitchen and bathroom sink.

"You _shattered a gem?!"_ Connie finally said.

Dad didn't so much nod as sag and then un-sag, head bobbing with the motion. "It was about a year before you were born. I told you how I'd tried to go on a mission or two with your mother," he said.

"And you broke your leg," she finished, seeing her dad in profile with confused eyes.

Another dejected nod. "We got rushed by something big and I pulled a gun when it got past Jasper and Citrine." He shook his head. "Bullets go right through gem bodies: probably hurts given how it reacted but it's not like there were any muscles or organs to damage. No, bullets are worthless... unless you hit the gemstone."

Connie looked around, not really seeing anything but her own whirling thoughts. "So it broke your leg and you accidentally shot it in the gemstone," she said after a beat, already shaking her head. "That's not-"

Dad interrupted her. "Jasper broke my leg, actually, and only after the shards hit the ground. It wasn't an accident. When I was a kid talking about nerdy stuff with my friends, I used to joke that if I was fighting a zombie or a supervillain or something and the bullets to the chest didn't slow it down, I wouldn't just empty my clip and get killed like the extras in a horror movie. No, I'd aim for the face, shoot, and then run if they didn't go down. The monster didn't really have a face, but it had that obvious gemstone, and I just..." He didn't say more but Connie saw the trigger finger on his right hand twitch.

Silence stretched out, broken only when Connie said in a quiet voice, "What happened?"

Her dad shook his head. "I don't remember everything the others said, what with the pain distracting me, but Peridot wanted me out. Shattering a gem was forbidden, plain and simple. Jasper said Citrine had thrown gems out of the Rebellion for shattering. Citrine pleaded ignorance on my behalf and Lapis came to my defense, something about most of them having shattered a gem at some point even if by accident."

"And?" asked Connie. Speaking literally, she was sitting against where the couch met the wall, her knees at her chest. But speaking metaphorically, she was on the edge of her seat.

"Jasper backed down. Abstained. Lapis bubbled the shards and Peridot hovered me to a hospital." Her dad slowly collapsed back into his seat, idly scratching the part of his leg where she knew he had a scar. Then he turned her way. "I killed someone. I mean, someone from another galaxy-" and his voice had taken on an incredulous tone, "-someone driven insane and mutated by magic space queens, but they'd once been as much a person as Citrine was. I killed them," he muttered softly. "At least, as much as you can kill a gem, since the broken pieces can reform as... parts," he said with understated horror, "which, if anything, makes it worse. Without a bubble, that's pure 'fates worth than death' territory right there."

As a minute stretched into two, Connie's muscles started to complain, arms, shoulders, and knees pulled tight as if she were trying to present as little of herself to the upsetting story unfolding across the couch. Making a concerted effort to unfold, she said, "So shattering Rose would be wrong too."

It echoed Steven's sentiments strongly and if both her dad and her Destiny Partner agreed then-

Dad shook his head. "That's not quite what I'm saying," he interrupted. "Shattering anyone, _killing_ anyone is terrible. But, if I had to pull that trigger to save you, or Priyanka or Steven or any of the gems, I'd do it without hesitation. Killing is wrong, but that doesn't make dying right." He paused and then, eyes softening if only very slightly, he said in a wry voice, "Just so we're one hundred percent clear, you are grounded from dying. Not allowed."

The hint of a smile came to Connie's face. "For how long?" she asked, giving her dad the setup.

"For life," he finished.

The two offered soft chuckles because gallows humor was still humor.

Connie nodded, then grimaced. "But, how do I know if it's come to that? I don't have a time machine anymore-"

"Anymore?" asked her dad, ignored.

"-so unless Rose delivers a villainous monologue about how she's going to shatter someone..." She shook her head. "I've been thinking about it and she had plenty of opportunities to shatter Jasper, Lapis, and Bismuth after beating Peridot and knocking me out. So I have to wonder if she'd been bluffing about shattering Lapis. I mean, she split the Rebellion over _not_ shattering gems so maybe I'm buying into her own scare tactics, because she seems big on head games and misdirection, and if we start using lethal force then she'll have no choice but to respond in kind and if that got someone killed then-"

Her dad had, by this time, scooched over and pulled her into another firm hug, one hand petting her from crown to back of her neck in long strokes. "I don't think there is a right answer, Cutlass," and she knew he was being serious since he used her actual nickname rather than his own joke version of it, "just various shades of tragedy. My point is, it's okay to protect yourself and your family. If you can do that with destabilizers then use destabilizers. But if not-" and his hand stopped where her shoulders and neck met, squeezing the girl in close, "-use whatever you have to."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead before pulling back. "Grounded from dying, remember?"

"For life," she answered back with a nod.

The dilemma still stood, hemmed in perhaps but still unconquered. Still, she felt a tiny bit better now.

It was then that Connie's phone burbled. Fishing it out of her pocket she saw it was a text from Steven. Right, they had an island that was mysteriously still inhabited with shadow tricksters to investigate.

She blinked because in that moment her life suddenly sounded like something from a television show.

"Need to go?" asked Dad.

Connie nodded absently, still a little unmoored.

Dad leaned forward, studying the phone. "Where did you get that from, anyway?"

Shaking off her earlier thought, Connie said, "Oh, uh, a store in the Crossroads mall. Phone Niche-A," she added after the name resurfaced.

He looked at her askance. "Is there a Phone Niche-B or is the owner guilty of attempted history pun?"

"I know!" exclaimed Connie. "But they do have a pretty good selection," she conceded.

She got up and, with an act of will, pinged Wolf. Hopefully he'd arrive soon so Steven and she could get to investigating. Glancing around the tidy home interior, she silently amended, _Hopefully he arrives_ outside _soon,_ with all the force of a fervent prayer.

Dad nodded, getting up and gathering their lemonade glasses. "Thanks for the tip. Anyone I should ask for or avoid?"

There was a howl, mercifully out in the front yard and muffled by the walls of the house. Connie hustled for the door but she paused at the polished brass door knob and said, "Yeah, Nahid," suppressing a shudder.

"Oh? Is she one to look for or lookout for?" he pressed.

"Yes," answered Connie stepping outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious and would like to revisit it, Doug shattering a corrupted gem came up in [Ep17Ch4](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13327380/chapters/31042260) (from Doug's point of view) and again in [Ep19Ch4](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13894644/chapters/32158776) (from Jasper's).
> 
> **Edit:** the exceptional [NeonJohn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonJohn/pseuds/NeonJohn) has taken Doug's gag about a Nokia phone endorsement to an absurd and superb conclusion:  
>   
> Isn't that just perfect?
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	4. Shadows and Illumination

Connie, Steven, and Wolf used warp pad travel to get to Mask Island, mainly because Connie was curious if the shadow tricksters that were implausibly still there had listened to her command that they not gunk up the pad. To her moderate surprise, the warp worked and they arrived in the unearthly tropical splendor of the geode-covered island.

Blinking against the flash, Connie mentally chided herself for forgetting to do the shut eye trick this time.

Wolf padded away, snuffling the ground, though staying within the shaded clearing they'd arrived in. Steven, shield on and supporting a force field, looked around for threats while Connie did the same, then gave a low whistle. "I forget sometimes just how pretty this place is," he said in chipper awe, already struggling to get out of his winter layers.

With a final sweep of the area, Connie sheathed the saber she'd been holding and helped Steven remove his winter coat and earmuffs, stuffing them into his pack. She'd been trying to use her summoned sword only when really needed to keep from being... unpleasant around the others, Steven in particular. Though she felt like she'd made progress in some respects from attending therapy sessions with Dr. Brooks, she still hadn't succeeded at summoning her sword without relying on the memory of the launch.

"Yeah," agreed Connie, now being helped out of her own winter attire. "Our camping trip here was really nice until it turned into a monster hunt."

The statement, 'Our _blank_ was really nice until monsters showed up' described a significant part of Steven's and her time together, as friends and then as a couple. That seemed simultaneously depressing and weirdly affirming. Maybe monster fights were just their _thing,_ like a shared hobby or recurring activity. Lapis' love of silly romantic comedies meant Connie had seen stranger over the years.

Or maybe it just felt more normal with Steven cheerfully at her side.

She briefly considered bringing up the whole invasion/evacuation thing but thought better of it, instead focusing on what Wolf was examining snoot-first. Jogging over closer to the hound she saw patterns in the tropical grass, the blades flattened into swirls with flowers and stones added as accents. It was like crop circles writ very small.

"Huh. Neat," said Steven, crouching down to peer at them. He pulled out his phone (in airplane mode, because wherever they were, it was well outside of the Universe family’s data plan) and snapped a couple pictures.

Walking clear of the clearing Connie saw more of these curious findings scattered seemingly at random. In one place tropical vines had been woven into a complex braid. In another, river pebbles had been arranged into a figure eight pattern, small stones at the center and steadily larger stones arranged at the edges. A geode was caked with dirt, a small mound of the stuff making a pile at the base as if someone had painted using mud as pigments and the results had flaked away upon drying. These and others dotted the island, pretty but opaque in meaning.

"What do you think these are?" asked Connie as they slowly trekked across the island, heading for where Connie had once dropped off the tiny and slumbering Umbra.

Steven, the fingers of one hand laced through her own, head swiveling around both to take in the sights as well as to look out for threats, shrugged. "Maybe the shadow tricksters are making art. Or maybe they're signs in Trickster-ese." He gestured back where the braided vines had been. "'Come here to get your hair braided.' It could be, like, a trickster beauty parlor."

Connie smiled even as she said, "Shadow tricksters don't have hair."

Steven was unshaken. "Tentacles then. You could braid those."

It wasn't until they were halfway across the island that they spotted the first actual trickster, an inky blot moving with the telltale flickering of their kind. Traveling through the underbrush, it was maybe the size of a Labrador but with no clear head and at least nine appendages, including what looked like two pincers and a stinger.

Actually there was something familiar about the appearance, but it wasn't until it paused momentarily and Connie could see it in profile that it clicked. "Steven," Connie exclaimed in wary excitement, "that looks like the corrupted Jade at the Sanctuary!"

The corrupted gem in question was comprised of endless creases, a scorpion made out of dark green origami. It was hard to make out the harsh edges on a figure made out of oily blackness, but the overall shape was right.

They spotted another flickering in and out of the water of a passing stream, roughly the same size as the first but built like a bear-dog mix, four stocky paws and a long mane-as-tail offering hints to its likeness.

"That one's shaped like a Quartz!" said Steven and it was undeniable. If it was meant to be modeled after some kind of Amethyst or Jasper was unclear, the difference mainly coming from the coloration, which didn't apply for a shadow trickster.

"This is really weird," remarked Connie, hair fluttering in the steady tropical breeze. Steven nodded in agreement.

The weirdness only increased as they approached the cluster of geodes Umbra had been released at. Wolf had suddenly halted, sitting on his haunches and staring mutely at them when they asked why he'd stopped. A little further and the temperature started to increase, Connie's gemstone glowing dully as they were exposed to ambient negative energy. Then, rounding a bend in the foliage, they came to the geodes and saw one was a tunnel extending into depthless dark.

Then the surface of the 'tunnel' rippled, dozens of eyes flickering open and then shutting like a sleeper on the edge of waking. It wasn't a tunnel underground at all but the bulk of the slumbering Umbra, curled up tight inside the shelter of the geode Connie had dropped it off in weeks and weeks ago.

Several shadow tricksters loitered in the area: two 'Rubies' splayed out in the shade of a palm tree, and a lizard-shaped trickster was flicker-moving over where a collection of geode fragments were being arranged into some kind of spiral pattern that sparkled in the sunlight.

Then another Quartz-shaped shadow, noticeably smaller than the others, flickered through. The 'Rubies' raised their heads in interest, the lizard pausing in its work. The Quartz flicker-moved at speed to Umbra's side and a heartbeat later was flickering away with a stygian chunk in its equivalent of a mouth. By the time it'd reached the edge of the area it was noticeably larger, the chunk was noticeably smaller, and the lounging tricksters had lost their interest.

"This is even weirder," said Steven, voicing Connie's thoughts aloud. That his grip had become tight and there was moisture twinkling at the corners of his eyes reminded Connie that his emotions were being warped by the ambient negative energy.

Unlike her, he didn’t have a gemstone glowing it all away.

Umbra was maybe Jasper-sized, filling the porch-scale geode with oblique darkness. However, Connie was expecting her to be two or three times that size given how fast she'd grown in the past, back when she'd lurked in the quarry outside of Beach City. Connie considered moving in to purge the shadowy mass but paused, frowning. Every time Umbra had needed to be purged before she had been active: antsy, frenetic, even playful.

"Umbra, it's Connie."

A dozen or so eyes opened in the blackness, several focusing on the yellow glow radiating from her chest. A beat later the eyes closed, becoming only faint creases in the oily black of Umbra's unnatural hide.

 _Let sleeping monster lie,_ she thought with a mental shrug. She turned to find the three tricksters watching her, neither active nor antsy themselves. Certainly not acting very tricksy despite her name for them.

Feeling like something was expected of her but unsure exactly what, Connie gave a curt nod of her head and said, "Keep being good." She thrust her hands in her pockets, feeling a little awkward. "Nice work so far."

When her audience only stared at her she beat a hasty retreat, dragging Steven with her despite her boyfriend looking markedly hangdog. She led him onward while he muttered half-hearted apologies (though for what, Connie couldn't catch) until they reached Wolf. The hound had curled up and was lying on his side in the grass, sunbathing and dozing.

Connie was about to bring Steven in for a forehead-to-forehead touch when Wolf rose with a yawn, then padded over and gave Steven a big, wet doggy lick upside the head. Steven strugged meekly at first but two more negative energy-purging slurps later he was giggling and trying to escape for the sake of his slobber-shellacked hair.

Pulling a towel out of her pack --hers and Steven's backpacks contained stuff for a broad range of encounters and climates because you never really knew what you'd find on the other side of the warp pad or howl portal-- she helped dry the emotionally-restored Steven.

"I guess the tricksters are nibbling on Umbra," speculated Steven, voice still muffled by the towel being rubbed against his locks. "Which is why they aren't evaporating."

Signing a thank you, Steven put away the towel and pulled out a durable brush to help tame his unruly curls. Connie nodded, pacing a little while she thought. "I was expecting Umbra to be bigger so that _would_ explain the difference: Umbra is sustained from the Sanctuary and the tricksters are sustained by her, making her the foundation for a strange kind of ecosystem. She wouldn’t even need to hunt and steal negative energy like the others since she has an uninterrupted source of it."

She paused in her pacing when she noticed how Steven's biceps stood out as he tried to run the brush through his thick hair. That was a nice perk to coming to a place too warm for winter coats. When she noticed Steven noticing her noticing him, she flushed a little and stammered out, "At least it means Umbra isn't growing as fast as before. As pretty as Mask Island is, I'm not going to complain about doing fewer Umbra purges."

Steven seemed to take his time brushing out his hair, a fact which sent Connie’s gaze wandering anxiously: they were a couple, yes, and it was clear they each liked… things about the other, appearance-wise, but Connie still felt bashful when they strayed beyond the bounds of kisses and snuggles. She’d changed a lot since meeting Steven, grown and matured in ways both heroic and mundane, but that core of social anxiety? Of feeling like everyone else in a gathering knew what they were doing and she was just trying not to be caught faking it? That remained, and so she blushed and tried to find somewhere to look that didn't feel too much like ogling. 

Suddenly taking a keen interest in the foliage, she heard her boyfriend say, "Yay! I love it when everyone wins." A pensive pause. "Do you think the tricksters can, like, pick the bad vibes they get out of Umbra?"

Connie frowned in thought. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

Finally putting his brush away, Steven called back, "Maybe that's why they looked like gems from the Sanctuary. That's where the negative energy comes from so the Ruby ones could have been eating Ruby vibes and the Jade one liked the taste of Jade energy."

"That makes as much sense as any of this does," Connie agreed, something niggling at the back of her mind. She looked over the area around her trying to track down the detail her subconscious was raising for her attention. "Everything about Umbra and the tricksters is weird and mysterious." Finally she stopped at the stretch where Wolf, the car-sized hound, had been lounging.

The grass was undisturbed.

"What?!" she squawked in tone very reminiscent of Peridot.

"Huh?" asked Steven, jogging over and looking. "I don't see anything."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Connie. "Wolf was just lying here. The grass should be matted since he weighs, like, hundreds of pounds."

Both teens turned to look at Wolf, who casually licked his chops. Padding a little ways distant, every third step left a mark, either crushed grass or a paw print pushed into the dirt trail they'd followed. Then he padded back leaving no marks at all --"Oh, now you're just taunting us!" cried Connie, earning a happy pant from Wolf-- before nuzzling Steven to remind him that instead of gawking he could be scratching Wolf's ears.

Connie crouched a little until she was staring Wolf dead in the eyes. "Are you ever going to stop being so mysterious?"

In response Wolf leaned forward and gave Connie a long, wet lick across the cheek, the dim glow of her gemstone winking out as the last vestiges of negative energy in her were removed via doggy smooches.

Deciding to cut her losses, Connie mopped her face and loudly declared a retreat to somewhere (very marginally) less strange: Beach City.

Once they reached the warp pad Connie, with a mote of disappointment, helped Steven slide his winter wear back on before receiving the same help in turn. She spared another look at the yellow hound-shaped enigma that was Wolf, who was proving that it was possible for a dog to pant smugly. Then a beam of light enveloped them and they arrived at the warp pad near the Universe family barn.

Connie's phone chimed several times and Steven's did the same the second he got it off of airplane mode: they each had missed calls. Several of them. All from the Beach House. Connie shared a worried look with Steven, received a nod in response, and then the trio vanished once more, arriving within the Beach House itself.

Jasper was standing nearby looking the sort of studiously neutral that Connie knew to be enforced: she was upset about something and hiding it. Lapis and Peridot were sitting on the couch, the former looking pensive while the latter was looking frantic.

"What's going on?" asked Connie, stepping off the pad as Peridot leapt to her feet and ran clumsily over toward them.

"The invading gems have sent a request for a diplomatic summit via the perma-fusion," exclaimed the short technician.

Connie blinked and Steven said, "Uh, what?"

"Saw Garnet on patrol." Expression souring slightly, Jasper continued. "She says Rose wants to meet at the Sanctuary. Soon. Says she's offering a truce."

As Connie and Steven staggered off the warp pad --Wolf, less shaken by this shocking revelation, padded over to the kitchen and began crunching kibble-- Jasper looked from teen to teen before elaborating, Lapis offering clarifying details and peanut gallery additions.

* * *

\--- Earlier ---

Snow-coated evergreens and endless white rolled by underneath as Lapis winged along. Well, endless white and inexhaustible orange: Jasper sprinted across the landscape sending snow spraying out to the sides like a living snowplow.

November in the Great North was cold as a Sapphire's disdain but neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed Jasper from the swift completion of her appointed patrol. It was impressive in its way, admirable even, but mostly it was...

"Boring!" cried the blue gem.

Lapis drifted down, winging at roughly gem-height to the orange gem stoically plowing a furrow through a sizable portion of Manikota. "Jasper, ol' buddy, ol' pal?"

Jasper ran on, eyes sharp, limbs tireless. She gave a grunt that could have meant anything in Jasper-ese; grunts were the Swiss army knife of stubborn non-conversation, after all.

"Since you asked," pressed Lapis. "We've been patrolling for a while now and I'm bored off my shapely blue butt. I know with the terrible pink menace darkening our doors that we're safer as patrol buddies, but at this point I'd welcome Rose jumping out of snowdrift and trying to cut me up just so there'd be the mid-fight banter."

A few seconds of silence passed save for Jasper waging a one-gem war against snow and pristine landscapes both. A geological epoch later the Quartz graveled out, "What do you want to talk about?"

Like a thirsty woman in the desert, Lapis drank in the words like water, though a corner of her cautioned her about being thirsty for Jasper. Bad, watermelon-colored things waited at the bottom of that bottle. Shaking her head (and feeling that small, proud thrill at the feeling of her long, flowing hair -- Suck it, Rose!) Lapis focused, scrolling through her mental Rolodex of Jasper topics.

Then she remembered they were being friends and vetoed all of the one's that'd antagonize the Quartz. Admittedly, that didn't leave her with much left.

"Wanna play 'Shatter, Date, Fuse?'" asked the blue gem. It'd been a while since their day's-long skirmish against the Scolecite -- 'Pyra', Connie had called her. Then Lapis frowned, remembering how she and Jasper had gone and flown a Mala-kite before that fight had been finished.

"No," was Jasper's retort though to her credit she managed to pack several syllables'-worth of disdain into a monosyllabic answer.

Lapis nodded, secretly relieved. She thought for another moment, hyrdrokinetic magic keeping her wings from starting to freeze despite it being thirty below frostbite out here. "Yeah, who wants more reheated Rebellion gossip? Wherever we go, let it be forward!" exclaimed Lapis, adding a beat later, "Conversationally forward, I mean."

Another beat, then, "Don't tell Dot I said that or she'd get the wrong idea," Lapis pleaded.

Jasper spared her a half-glance then gave a nod, mercifully not asking Lapis why she needed to keep that secret.

Jasper was good at secrets, as _Pink Diamond's freakin' shards_ proved beyond even a shadow of a doubt. Lapis considered raising that subject but thought better of it, seeing it end only one of three ways: with a curt 'because Citrine said so,' Jasper clamming up tighter than an oyster gargling glue, or both.

Instead, Lapis flapped a few times to maintain speed and said, "Let's pretend for a moment that the dating pool on Earth wasn't shallower than a puddle in the Sahara. What kind of gal would we be looking for? Whaddya say?" and she waggled her eyebrows for added pizzazz.

More snow was plowed, orange limbs churning. Finally the Quartz gave a grunt in agreement. Versatile things, grunts. If there were a people who spoke only in grunts, Jasper would be their Shakespeare.

"I'll go first," offered Lapis. "She'd have to be cute. A good listener. Patient, because, stars, one of us would need to be. Full of surprises. Romantic but not _too_ romantic, because that’s a scene that gets old fast. But most importantly, and I mean tip-top priority," and Lapis gesticulated as she flew to emphasize the significance of this requirement, "she'd have to have-"

"A nice butt," Jasper rudely interrupted, stealing the thunder from Lapis' sails, because a party foul that bad didn't deserve a _good_ metaphor.

Lapis blew a long, loud raspberry, scowling downward. Once she was done voicing her disapproval via fart noises her bare arms went to her hips. "Rude," scoffed the gem.

The upbraiding was sadly postponed while she weaved around a cluster of evergreens, and by the time she’d flown back she wasn’t feeling quite as indignant. Ugh. Typical.

"How'd you know?" she finally asked.

"Because you were describing Peridot," said the Quartz matter-of-factly. "And you always praise her backside at least once whenever you talk about her."

Lapis blinked. Had she? She mentally ran through the list again, a figurative green checkmark being written beside each. Huh. It hadn't been intentional but there were worse surprise truths to come tumbling out of one’s mouth.

Feigning nonchalance, Lapis puffed out her chest and said, "Well that booty don't lie and neither do I."

A beat passed and then Lapis heard a snort below, which was surprising for _multiple_ reasons, Jasper shaking her head and offering a low chuckle.

"See?” pressed Lapis. “Isn't this more fun than glaring at another hundred acres of nothing?" because what was the point luck if not to push it.

She received a grunt --What else?-- in response but there was a hint of amusement in there. So emboldened, Lapis said, "Alright then, Misses Insightful, what's your dream gem like?"

The safe bet was 'Citrine,' either in one word or twenty, but recently a pink warship crashed on Beach City so these weren't exactly normal times.

Time and snow passed them by, Jasper thinking... or just trying to drive Lapis nuts with suspense. _It's what I'd do,_ the hydrokinetic conceded when she considered the situation with their roles reversed.

"Fierce," said Jasper.

Okay, fierce. That wasn't a 'no' on being Citrine but it wasn't exactly a 'yes' either. If she'd said 'decisive' or 'victorious' Lapis would have rolled her eyes and dropped a bunch of snow on her in revenge for an interesting conversation killed. But fierce? _Hmm._

"And?" prompted Lapis.

"Determined."

This could still go either way, mused Lapis. "What else?"

An even longer silence passed, Lapis on the verge of swatting Jasper with her wings just to break the tension. Then, "Faithful and true," and if Lapis wasn’t mistaken there was the merest hint of scowl coming to Jasper's face… and Lapis was an expert on Jasper scowls if ever there was one.

Whoa. Talk about subtext. Lots to read into that. Lapis resisted the urge to look as interested as she felt, because then OJ would realize she'd started to open up and Lapis would be back to deciphering grunts.

"Let's get shallower," said Lapis. "Curves? Muscles? Give me a shape here."

Jasper scoffed. "Butt aside, earlier you were praising Peridot's personality."

Lapis crossed her hands across her chest, mock-offended. "Why I never?! How dare you accuse me of having depth. I'll have you know I plunged an entire station into chaos and had to outrun an Agate inquisition all because of that Peri derriere. Next you'll call me responsible or patient!"

Jasper's grin wasn't exactly wide but it was there. "My mistake," she quipped.

"You’re darn right it is," snarked Lapis. Then, "Now, spill it, OJ. You could be talking about anything from a Ruby up to a Moissanite right now."

Jasper scoffed. "As if I didn't have a hundred Rubies ask me out during the Rebellion."

Lapis chuckled. "Hehe, yeah. They were climbing all over you like a jungle gym. I blame Garnet: as soon as the little space heaters saw that there was any chance at all, they all rushed headlong into the dating scene like a battalion of pint-sized Casanovas. Honestly, they were worse than the Carnelians."

She'd been chased by a few Rubies as well, including one that had followed her like a red shadow. Then she remembered what'd become of that Ruby, the memory of a Homeworld Quartz with red dust on her hands flitting through her mind, and she had to fight down the urge to go find a body of liquid water to toss around. She took a deep breath and glanced down, seeing the yellow star on her form, seeing the bare arms.

 _And Citrine needed you like White Diamond needs her shadow!_ she heard inside her head, marveling a little that the voice had been her own.

She noticed Jasper looking up at her, expression vaguely concerned. The Quartz raised an eyebrow in question.

Lapis waved her off. "Just shouting at Rose in my head."

Jasper's concern lingered but she offered a nod in agreement.

Looking up, Lapis saw their destination approaching: the Great Wailing Stone, or rather the warp pad beside it. It'd take them to the next leg of their patrol and Lapis was confident this conversation wouldn't survive the transition. Better dig now while she had a chance.

"Gimme them details on Dream Gem, OJ," demanded Lapis.

Jasper gave her a challenging stare in return, the unspoken _Or what?_ loud and clear.

"Or else I'll start coming to your fantasy games. I've already got a name in mind: Azure the Cerulean Herculean," she announced. “Smasher of faces and font of witty repartee,” and she did some flexing for good measure.

Jasper glared. "Invitation only," she parried.

Lapis raised a single eyebrow. "That's why I'll ask Pinkie if I can join. He'd let me in faster than you could say 'weird-shaped dice.'"

 _That_ hit home, the orange gem’s poker face forgotten. "He would," the Quartz conceded, plowing through a snow drift that was taller than Lapis without even breaking stride.

The bronze filigree of the wailing stone was catching the light, almost looking like it was glowing. They were so close.

Jasper shook her head. "Pretty," she said and it took Lapis a second to remember what they were talking about. "Fierce, determined, faithful, true, and pretty. The rest wouldn’t matter: so long as I'm hers and she's mine, that'd be enough," finished the Quartz, bulling through the conversation and snow both.

They stepped and/or landed on the warp pad seconds later, a win achieved seconds before the metaphorical buzzer sounded. Lapis squirreled all of this hard-won gossip away for later mulling over. That OJ might possibly, maybe, someday have room for a non-Citrine someone, even hypothetically, was _huge._ And, most importantly, not boring in the slightest! She elbowed the Quartz affectionately, adding, "But no Rubies, right?"

Jasper rolled her eyes then willed the warp pad into activity. "Fine. No Rubies," she agreed just before they arrived at their next destination.

"You shouldn't speak poorly of Rubies," said a calm voice behind them.

The noise emerging from Lapis’ lips was probably best transcribed as, "YRG!" and it was accompanied by a surprised and graceless jolt. Jasper, meanwhile, whirled about in an instant, fists raised. It was an empty gesture, the fists, as Lapis could already feel the calm of the Sanctuary stealing over her.

Garnet stood less than three paces back, looking at them with fifty percent more twinkle in her eyes than a biclops like Lapis could have managed. Behind her the Sanctuary sprawled out, lit only by the moon and stars since dawn here was still an hour or so away.

Even with the Sanctuary in effect, Lapis felt the urge to be embarrassed. Then her eyes narrowed on the fusion. "You're guessing," she accused. "You don't actually know if we were talking smack about Rubies or not."

"Maybe." The triclops smirked back. "Maybe not."

"What do you want?" asked Jasper warily. Elsewhere she'd probably have spat the question out but the Sanctuary had a habit of taking the edge off moods and words both.

"Rose Quartz is back," answered the fusion whose outfit featured a prominent rose-and-thorns motif.

Lapis feigned surprise. "Wait, Rose is- Oh yeah! About yea tall, pink hair, traitor to the Rebellion and Earth? That Rose!" Lapis snapped her fingers as if she'd just remembered something. "Have you seen her around? She left pieces of her warship double-parked across Beach City. They're gonna tow it soon, ya know. Well, that or shovel it into the dump. Either way, she left a lotta punches to the face in the trunk that we wanted to return to her. Personally. You know where we can find her?"

"Yes," answered Garnet simply.

"Where?" asked Jasper immediately. For show or not, her gloved fists were clenched tight.

"Here."

Lapis and Jasper looked around, eyes peeled.

"Later," added the fusion. "Dawn."

The silence stretched out. Finally, Lapis, looking from gem to gem (to gem), asked in a single, long syllable, "Whyyy?"

Garnet's third eye closed, whatever that meant. "She wants to discuss the possibility of a truce."

That made the stunned silence of before seem positively quaint.

Jasper glowered, making it almost look natural despite the Sanctuary-enforced chill. "Why don't you negotiate instead? You're here now; we don't need to wait for dawn and your traitor general's arbitrary schedule."

Garnet, utterly stoic, said, "Rose doesn't speak for me. I have no general; not since the war ended."

Lapis rolled her eyes as loudly as possible. "Oh, then I guess that was a peace ship Rose rode in on. You know, the one that fired on our town and crashed into our temple? I didn't realize those were lasers of friendship. When she was waving that sword around, was she just coming in for a hug and forgot to set it down first? Because I hate when that happens."

A beat, then two. "Ouch," observed the fusion.

"Thanks," quipped Lapis with false cheer. "I'll be here all night. Don't forget to tip the waitstaff." Another beat. "Okay, I'm done. Go ahead and say something cryptic."

Garnet glared and for a second Lapis thought the annoyance behind it was real despite the Sanctuary. Of course, that was impossible but she had to give the fusion props for effect. “Your scorn is misplaced and wasted besides.” Then the look softened and she shook her head. "Regardless, Rose spoke to me to speak to you. Listen or don’t: I’m just the intermediary."

"We'll come," said Jasper and Lapis started to object when the Quartz added, "but only Rose Quartz comes. No Peridot. No Amethyst. No Pearl."

They didn't actually know if Rose had managed to link up with the others or not, but Lapis couldn't fault Jasper for being cautious. Admittedly the Sanctuary was literally the worst possible place to ambush someone given that violence was impossible, but it was _impossibler_ without a Pearl pulling a destabilizer from her gemstone or a Peridot trying to tractor beam you over the side.

"She can't warp herself here," insisted Garnet.

"Warp her and leave, then," insisted the Quartz.

"No. I'll arbitrate."

Lapis scoffed and gestured broadly at Garnet. "You're wearing a _rose_ for Diamonds' sake!"

"And you're wearing a yellow star. It’s sentiment and nothing more," said the fusion, calmly but with underlying intensity, gaze bearing down on Lapis. "Neither your general nor mine will be here at dawn. Not really." A beat. "Not like we might want."

 _Well, isn't she a cheerful?_ groused Lapis inwardly. _This has to be the Sapphire doing the talking because no Ruby could be this sour, Sanctuary or no Sanctuary._

Jasper opened her mouth to speak when Garnet cut in, facing the Quartz. "You, Lapis, Peridot, and Connie. No one else and it'll just be Rose and me that meet you."

"Why not Bismuth?" probed Lapis, ignoring the fact that right now BM was a rainbow-hued chunk of rock wearing a cheap plastic tiara. She was saving Pinkie and Wolf as arrows in her rhetorical quiver in case the fusion's answer was less than compelling.

Garnet's stare ran long. "Rose would not trust the safety of this place if Bismuth were present."

That... was actually a fair cop, Lapis had to reluctantly agree. If anyone could find a way to end another gem despite a no-violence aura, it'd be Bismuth. She'd consider it a _challenge,_ the loon, especially after what Lapis had heard about the fight at the beach.

Lapis turned to face Jasper, eyebrows raised in question. The Quartz studied her face for a moment before turning back to the fusion. "Agreed. Dawn."

"Dawn," echoed Garnet.

* * *

Jasper finished a recap of the essentials (Sanctuary-talk only, there was no mention of the talk that took place across Manikota) and Lapis, who had migrated to one of the bar stools, managed to keep the peanut gallery remarks to a minimum.

"And dawn will arrive at Citrine's Sanctuary in minutes!" exclaimed Dot, the cutie fussing over Connie like a mother hen. Then, with a jolt, she started to run for the bathroom, muttering something about checking the control center before departing.

Ever the decisive one, Con-con was already moving, headed for her heavier winter clothing because Sanctuary cold was colder than Beach City cold.

"But-" and five sets of eyes turned to face Pinkie. "What about me?"

Connie was already halfway up the stairs to her loft when she stumbled, half-collapsing and half-waiting on one of the steps. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was a thin line.

 _Wow, there is something going on there,_ thought Lapis looking from teen to teen.

"Your accompanying us would constitute a violation of the terms of the agreement," called Dot from the bathroom/control room.

Stevie's mouth flopped open and close another time and then he turned to the girl frozen on the stairs to the loft. "Connie?" one word which, judging from Con-con's reaction, asked loads.

If this were a soap opera there'd be a swell of violins as the two stared across the Beach House.

Then Connie said, "I'll call you the second we get back," and looked away from the teen as she rushed the rest of the way up the steps.

Wolf's eyes lingered on Connie before he padded over and nuzzled Steven's side, earning a tepid scratch in response. The hound half-led, half-supported the boy on the way over to the warp pad, even stopping to pick up his cheeseburger-shaped backpack, taking the top strap gently in his jaws.

Jasper strode over and warped the pair away, warping back a few seconds later, and Lapis shook her head. Right. Time to find her game face, because whatever it was that Rose wanted, Lapis didn't believe for an Empire minute that it was peace and love on the planet Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you Wednesday, July 31st for the next exciting installment of _Aftershocks!_
> 
> Before I get to the showier post-chapter content, there was a new Peridot's What-If omake that went up last week to make up for the unscheduled delay of the main fic.  
> *) [What if Peridot could Shapeshift?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12265302/chapters/46982878) by [br42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- "With new power comes no responsibility."
> 
> Moving on, Connie Swap fan art laureate and all-around wonderful dude, [NeonJohn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonJohn/pseuds/NeonJohn), has finished the third and final design of a series around the hypothetical fusions between Connie and the core Crystal Gems. Which leads me to introducing **Vesuvianite** , the fusion of Connie and Peridot, who's described as a combination dismissive teen and mad scientist with an addiction to intellectual stimulation and caffeine.  
>   
> A fuller draft version of the dialogue, as pitched in the CS Discord was:
>
>> Lapis: I'm telling you gals, we need more doom cannons. Six ain't gonna stop Homeworld if they come a-knockin'.
>> 
>> Bismuth: Then we make more of them so we can knock back harder.
>> 
>> Vesuvianite: [half-buried inside some gizmo they're building, a thermos of coffee within reach] Doom cannons. How quaint.
>> 
>> B: [crosses arms, smirks] Oh? You got something better?
>> 
>> V: In a manner of speaking. With the right changes, the existing doom cannons can be made capable of far grander devastation. Also, 'doom cannons?' [pulls upper body out of device, takes a drink of coffee] What are we, six-year-olds?
>> 
>> L: Hey! Doom cannon's an awesome name!
>> 
>> V: [sniffs dismissively, takes another swig of coffee] It's adequate. But my newly-improved and superior weaponry must have a superior name to match.
>> 
>> B: [Lapis goes to object, Bismuth stops her, grinning] No, let's hear her out. She's hilarious after her third cup, and that's at least her fifth.
>> 
>> V: Seventh!
>> 
>> B: Even better. Go ahead.
>> 
>> V: Ah, yes. [pats device she's building] When I can complete six of these to retrofit onto the orbital array, then we'll have a full, six Devastating Outer-Orbital Mechanisms Capable of Annihilating a Numerous Non-friendly Outerspace Navy.
>> 
>> L: [blinks, mouths words while counting on fingers] Your superior name for 'doom cannon' is... doom cannon?
>> 
>> V: [rolls eyes, finishes thermos] No, it's D.O.O.M. C.A.N.N.O.N. and it will turn the Homeworld armada into so much confetti.
>> 
>> B: [bent double and laughing] See! [gasps] I love this gal! She's hilarious!
>> 
>> V: [crosses all four arms] I feel as though you aren't taking this seriously.
>> 
>> B: [laughs harder] Not even a little!
> 
> As reminder (and because they're awesome), there's the Connie and Jasper fusion, **Fulgurite** , described as a paladin through-and-through, crusading against injustice with lightning and the thunder of hooves.  
>   
> And lastly there's Connie and Lapis' fusion, **Turquoise** , described as playful, goofy, but capable of dramatic shifts in mood which are accompanied by her face/mask flipping to reveal her unhappy face. Powerful weather control with a penchant for both sunny days and thunderstorms.  
>   
>   
> A big thanks to NeonJohn for these superb designs!
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	5. Trick or Treaty

Nervousness roiled in Connie's gut. That and apprehension. They were minutes away from facing Rose Quartz again, _Rose Quartz_ , and a vocal corner of Connie's mind was saying that going and doing literally anything else would be preferable. Wasn't there a piece of gemtech that needed rebuilding or a gem monster that needed bubbling?

 _Yes,_ answered another, angrier corner. _Rose herself._

As Connie was stepping down from the loft, her heaviest, most insulative winter wear layered over her clothes, Peridot emerged from the bathroom/control room. The gem -- _Mom,_ Connie mentally corrected, a smile and a small measure of warmth rising to the fore of her emotional turmoil-- was carrying the Speak 'N Spell-ham radio hodgepodge from when they'd been sifting through the wreckage for usable salvage.

"I am now equipped and ready to depart," she announced, the device looking large in her tiny hands.

Jasper was already on the warp pad, having warped Steven and Wolf out moments ago, and Lapis winged over to join her. Connie was jogging over, already feeling too warm in her layers, and frowned at her mom's device. "Are you planning on bringing some of the robonoids along, Mo-" Connie glanced at Jasper and Lapis and cleared her throat. "-Ma'am?"

Calling Peridot 'mom' in the privacy of her thoughts or when it was just the two of them was fine, but she felt reluctant to do it in front of the others. At least, not without some sort of talk first. She'd had to discuss it with her dad, after all, and there was no reason to expect Jasper and Lapis to be any different. There was a time for that and just before leaving on a high-stakes mission was not it.

Mom met her eyes, catching the correction and intuiting Connie's reasons. Unfortunately she tripped stepping up on the warp pad, the gem still getting used to walking on much shorter legs, and Jasper caught and steadied her. With a look of chagrin and a small word of thanks to Jasper, Peridot said, "No. All of them have been returned to the task of unlocking the holographic suite in Citrine's chamber. But if the nature of your inquiry is as to why I'm carrying this ersatz terminal, it's because it allows me to monitor control room data and warp usage logs in addition to direct the robonoids." A beat. "I'm hoping to miniaturize it with time but expediency demanded function over form."

"Don't worry," chirped Lapis. "I've got form enough to compensate," and she ran a hand along her side.

"No function, though," quipped Jasper. This earned her a scoff of mock-outrage and a thin, blue elbow to the side. The banter helped Connie feel slightly less freaked out, the girl offering the squabbling pair a wan smile.

 _Not that those feelings are going to be a problem for long, given the destination_ she thought. What she said out loud, though, was, "What's the plan?"

"This is a talk, not a battle, and there isn't any particular deadline," said Mom. "So it seems like it would be most prudent for all four of us to be present during the talk. Then we can easily confer with one another and make a fully informed, joint decision."

Lapis shook her head. "Naw. Rose's sword isn't the only pink thing that can cut. She uses trash-talk like a pro and having all of us in the room just gives her more targets to pick from. You can't throw a punch in the Sanctuary, but you can an insult."

"Also," added Connie, "if she is going to do some kind of impossible attack, having all of us clustered together probably makes that easier."

"I'll speak with Rose," offer Jasper. "If there is treachery, I can endure it. And in the Sanctuary, she will not be able to harm me with words either."

A beat passed and then Mom said, "A laudable offer, but an optimistic one." Jasper looked at her with surprised indignance, clearly not expecting an implicit critique from Peridot, but Mom was quick to clarify, saying, "Not optimistic in your self-assessment, but rather in Rose Quartz being willing to accede to it. The millennia-long antagonism between the two of you would be an issue even under the sobering aura of the Sanctuary."

This was met with a moment of thoughtful silence before Connie said in a hesitant voice, "I... She's scared of me. Or scared of Citrine through me." She shook her head. "I don't really understand it but it's just about the only thing I can say with confidence about her. Everything else might be lies and misdirection, but the fear is real. Maybe we can use that."

Jasper put a large hand on Connie's shoulder and offered a gentle squeeze. She offered the Quartz a wan smile.

Mom, meanwhile, scowled, the metaphorical gears turning behind her eyes. "Hmm. I wonder if perhaps Rose isn't the true threat vector at all, but rather the distraction."

"Eh?" asked Lapis, clearly as confused as Connie felt.

"The perma-fusion," she elaborated. "It would be a matter of naiveté to take her declaration of neutrality at face value. And if all four of us are watching Rose for signs of treachery that would leave Garnet free to enact some other scheme. Why, the entire truce talk could be a ruse only to have us occupied while the perma-fusion acts."

A part of Connie balked at the idea. Garnet wasn't the enemy, after all. But was that still true? She had been Rose's last loyalist on Earth, she wore the gem's iconography even after thousands of years, and she had spent the post-war peace guarding the woman's fountain. Ruby's story and the argument between Garnet's components that Asmi had witnessed was telling but that was when Rose was gone, a distant figure that had seemingly abandoned her. With Rose back, was Garnet a loyal soldier once more? She certainly wasn't a Crystal Gem in the same stripe as Jasper, Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth.

"Hmm, you might be onto something, Dot," mused Lapis. "New plan: I'll lip off to Rose and make her hate me-"

"You were going to do that regardless," objected Peridot.

Lapis pressed on despite the interruption, though she was smirking more deeply than before. "-And OJ and Con-con will be the poor, unfortunate souls to meet with pink Ursula while Dot and I keep an eye on Garnet. Four eyes are better than three, right?"

The blue gem looked from person to person, receiving a nod of agreement from each.

"Let's do this," said Connie, forcing confidence into her voice she didn't quite feel.

* * *

The warp pad flashed and Connie closed one eye just before the answering flash dazzled her. Opening the closed eye, she was able to see a Sanctuary lit only dimly, the stars bright where they weren't obscured by clouds, a gibbous moon low on the horizon.

The cold of the Sanctuary was different from normal cold because it leeched your concern about being chilly out even as it did the same for your warmth. Like a slow-motion full-body shiver, Connie felt the icy calm of the Sanctuary steal over her. The worries and apprehension of before were transformed into intellectual matters of risk assessment rather than the visceral promise of ambush and adrenaline.

No one else had warped here ahead of them, the only movement coming from the wanderings of the corrupted gems below. The horizon was brightening with the promise of dawn.

"Let's relocate below to the grounds proper," said Peridot, looking comfortable with herself for the first time in recent memory. "If there is any form of malfeasance planned, it would most likely take place at the warp pad before the pacifying aura has fully taken hold."

A reasonable suggestion, they all agreed. As a group, the four descended the stairs, treading carefully around a corrupted Amethyst that was sprawled dozing across a swath of steps. Connie noticed Lapis' fingers intertwined with Peridot's and a corner of her observed how nice it'd be to have Steven at her side right now. The expected rise of inner turmoil and mild self-reproach failed to come, just one more drop of negative energy added to the stream that was being siphoned up and sent away to Umbra.

Just as the disc of the sun started to peek out from the horizon there was a chime and a column of light, Garnet and Rose standing on the warp pad. The enemy gem was without her iconic sword, which was both a promising sign of peaceful intent and a concession to practicality since it was impossible to aggress within the Sanctuary; the aura of enforced peace within the Sanctuary would turn that sword into just a large and cumbersome hunk of metal, more useful as a paperweight than a weapon. They descended the steps unhurriedly, Rose's eyes traveling across the group but lingering on Connie.

As they closed Garnet hung back, a corrupted Ruby scampering over to receive pettings from the fusion, while Rose strode closer, pink curls swaying in the light breeze coming down from the adjacent mountains. Jasper advanced as well, the two large Quartzes meeting maybe ten feet apart.

"Rose," said Jasper calmly. It took Connie a moment of pondering to realize that the reason Jasper sounded weird to her was that this was quite possibly the first time she’d heard the warrior mention Rose without at least a little anger in her voice.

"Jasper," answered Rose sweetly. Turning to the others, she said, "Lapis. Peridot." A beat. "Connie," and her gaze lingered. "Thank you all for coming."

"This ain't a social call, Rosy," drawled Lapis. "You said you wanted to talk truce, so let's talk truce. It should be good for a laugh if nothing else," because aggression and violence were impossible in the Sanctuary but snark was _always_ an option.

Rose sighed. "During the Schism, Citrine only ever brought you to these summits as a tool for intimidation, an unsubtle reminder that you could fling tsunami's about on a whim."

Lapis grinned, cocking her hip out and resting her palm on it. "Are you feeling intimidated, Rosy?"

Rose's expression was flat, her voice bored. "No, which is why you should stop trying and let someone important speak."

Yes, snark was _definitely_ an option in the Sanctuary.

"~Needed you like White Diamond needs her shadow~" answered Lapis in a singsong voice. Connie had no idea what that meant but Rose's eyes widened in recognition before narrowing in disapproval; whatever the meaning, the jab had hit home.

Rose turned her nose up, looking away from Lapis. Addressing no one in particular, she said, "Connie and I will retreat to the inner sanctum and discuss terms."

Connie's response was preempted by Jasper's immediate, "No."

Rose faced the Quartz, a single inquisitive eyebrow raising. "No? I thought you of all people would have more faith in Citrine's successor."

"I have complete faith in Connie," asserted the Quartz. Crossing broad arms, she said to the enemy gem, "It's you I don't trust. I will join her."

The pink gem's gaze was appraising as she eyed Jasper. Then she nodded, the very picture of casual confidence. "Very well." Turning to Connie she said with sonorous sweetness, "After you, dear niece."

Connie didn't flinch because the Sanctuary was handy like that, but it was unsettling regardless. Sparing a last glance at Lapis and Peridot, Connie turned and strode toward the inner sanctum, there to talk peace with Rose Quartz in the shadow of her mother's statue.

She couldn't decide if that was auspicious or not, but it certainly made an already strange day even stranger.

Jasper fell into step behind her, always keeping herself between Connie and Rose. Rose Quartz followed suit, never looking back at Garnet, who was now seated in the shadow of her component's statue and crowded by four corrupted Rubies each trying to be next to receive sauna-temperature tummy rubs.

Inside the sanctum Biggs was lounging on one of the large pillows at Citrine's feet. When weeks ago a measure of lucidity had been temporarily returned to the corrupted Jasper, Peridot had used a chart of letters to allow her to communicate with the others. One of the gems, Connie had never been sure who, had printed out that chart and mounted it on large, sturdy material. In a move that was slightly heartbreaking, Biggs now took the chart with her everywhere and was now idly batting at it where it was propped up on one of the adjacent pillows.

Connie decided not to take a seat, feeling small in front of the huge statue of her mother and beside the sprawling Biggs. Rose, however, had no such concern, settling down on one of the pillows and fixing Connie with an expectant look.

Jasper stood at a parade rest between and a little to the side of Connie and Rose, radiating alertness.

Outside Connie could hear faint conversation, Lapis talking with Peridot and/or Garnet, but it was little more than a susurrus on the breeze.

"How are you, dear niece?" asked Rose when Connie failed to fill the silence.

Connie pulled a face, internal debate raging before she said, "Um, could we not do that?"

Rose blinked. "Do what?"

"The mind games. The false courtesies. Using innuendo and double-meanings to try and bluff the other person." She sighed, rubbing her mitten'd hands together out of habit rather than due to the cold bothering her. "You wanted to talk so let's just, you know, talk."

A long second of silence stretched out then Rose said, "You truly are your mother's daughter."

Connie gave the pink Quartz a disapproving look. To her credit, Rose raised her hands in a placating gesture. "My apologies. This is all very surreal for me, being here after so long but seeing you instead of… her. And- That was just a very Citrine way to begin a formal talk. My sister had little love for mincing words."

A beat later Jasper almost reluctantly said, "Yeah," as if loathe to agree with Rose even if it was about a facet of Citrine she approved of.

Connie looked from Jasper to Rose then shrugged. "Okay, fine, but my request stands."

Rose nodded, oddly amenable. "Very well. When I was given my mission to Earth and learned the five of you were active on the planet, I thought a conflict between us would be inevitable. So I tried to overcome you all immediately rather than allow you to choose the time and place of the conflict. It is clear how that went."

"Poorly," drawled Jasper.

Rose, unruffled, nodded in agreement. "Yes. That was ever the case with Citrine: direct victory was too costly to contemplate so it was honestly more productive just to stay out of my sister's way whenever possible. I believe you have inherited the knack, my nei-" She cleared her throat. "I mean, Connie. It was during my slow descent to Earth that Pearl pointed out what in retrospect should have been obvious."

Mention of Pearl made Connie inwardly jolt, interest and excitement flaring up where had previously only been guardedness. Trying to tamp down on any outward sign of excitement, Connie said in a level voice, "And what did Pearl say?"

Rose studied Connie another second before answering, "That if I had come to you in peace rather than aggression, I might not have needed to fight you at all." Brushing back a curl that had slipped too far forward, Rose said, "Pearl speaks very highly of you, Connie."

It was all Connie could do not to swoon at the thought. Instead of arriving with a warship, if Rose had come to Earth in a shuttle, no sword in hand, just Pearl at her side and a request for a truce? Given her mother's plea for Connie to help Rose, if Pearl had made a heartfelt request of the same, Connie would have forced the other gems to the truce table, at sword-point if needed. She and Steven both would have, in fact, because her inner Steven's approval for the notion was undeniable.

Right now the temple and Beach House were damaged, Beach City was half a ruin, Peridot had been grievously hobbled, Bismuth was still poofed, Connie had _nearly died in space_ , and things between her and Steven were... complicated. All because Rose had come out swinging.

Was this a chance to stop perpetuating the same mistake? Rose was far from beaten and it was anyone's guess how much more harm would be done if they tried to end her by force. All this talk about whether shattering was justified or not was driven by fear: fear for the safety of herself and her loved ones, fear that they couldn’t stop Rose any other way. But it would be moot if the threat of Rose was ended with words instead of violence.

It was with an almost palpable enthusiasm that a part of Connie leapt at the idea, an instinctive yearning for relief driving her. However, with an act of will Connie reigned in that reaction, tamping it down. Even if Rose was being sincere, a big 'if', they were far from reaching a deal.

"That could have gone very differently," Connie agreed reservedly. Pacing a little, she turned back to the seated Quartz. "What is it you came here to do?"

Rose sat a little straighter, the gem radiating bluff honesty. It took Connie a second but she realized it was almost the same posture Jasper would have held if she were somehow in Rose's position. Before Connie could wonder about that, Rose said, "The Diamonds are beside themselves with grief over their shattered sister. Oh, they show it in different ways, but even five thousand years has done nothing to heal the wound."

Rose quirked her head to the side, a didactic pose that was eerily reminiscent of Peridot on the verge of a lecture. "Humans thrive on change. It is part of who they are. It's part of what made me first wonder about what a being like yourself would be like, back in those earlier, simpler days of the Rebellion," and Rose shook her head sadly.

Jasper made a disapproving grunt at the display.

Rose offered a small huffed but didn't object, pressing on instead. "Gems are, as a rule, less mutable, less accepting of change. And the Diamonds are to gems as gems are to humans. I am not sure if it is even possible for them to process their grief. But they are hardly the only ones to suffer for it." With a look that was very Lapis-like, as though the blue gem were about to cut through her natural deflections and make a sincere plea, Rose said, "The empire is a machine now poorly aligned and grinding against itself. But those gears are gems and every year hundreds are ground up while the Diamonds try and fail to rule with a steady hand."

Connie's eyes were wide, unable to escape Rose's gaze as the gem rose, hands clasped in front of her, head slightly downcast as if Pearl herself were pleading. "I can't save Homeworld from itself, not alone, but with your help it would be possible. Citrine tried to be a hero to Earth, but this is bigger than any planet, even one as special as this. You probably have little fondness for Homeworld, raised by its survivors and surrounded by its folly, but gems are people too and their suffering is no less real or urgent."

It was a stirring performance, an earnest plea with clear stakes and desperate need, all wrapped in sweeping rhetoric. It was an impressive opening statement, and one that pulled strongly at Connie from multiple directions.

And that, Connie thought, was why it rang false. If there was such a thing as too perfect a performance, this was it. Connie didn't believe that the same person who had cold-heartedly ground Peridot into abject defeat was the same person who would make, for want of a better word, a sincere humanitarian plea urging Connie to follow her better nature. Especially not when the time between had featured the each of them returning to Earth on the heels of a warship going down in flames.

No, Connie didn't believe that person existed. But Rose was here, making her case, so someone was there even if they were hidden behind one or more masks. And if Connie tried to imagine that person, it was one who could change personas on demand, one who would inhabit the role of conquering warlord or the role of bleeding heart if it got her what she wanted.

Connie licked her lips, calm as only she could be at the Sanctuary, and tried to think of whether a truce with such a person could exist as more than a convenient fiction. But most urgently, she was trying to think of what to say so she didn't just stand there like a deer caught in headlights.

"So if you got ahold of Pink Diamond's shards, you'd just leave?" asked Connie, thoughts racing.

There was a long, appraising look from Rose before she answered. "More or less. My Peridot would need to confirm that those were indeed the missing cluster of her shards and that they hadn't been broken beyond repair." A beat. "You didn't destroy the cluster did you? Grind it down to sand?"

Connie started to open her mouth when she stopped. Once upon a time, years ago, Lapis had ambushed Connie saying, 'Goober says what?' And when Connie had in confusion replied, 'What?' the gem had cackled gleefully at Connie calling herself a goober. The prank had continued off-and-on long enough that Connie had finally learned to think before replying, lest she incriminate herself or just perpetuate a really dumb joke.

This felt like a much more serious version of the same trick.

"Is that what the cluster is?" replied Connie. "You never did say when we talked aboard the ship."

Another long look from Rose. "It's what I'm here for. Assuming it's intact."

"Assuming it is," continued Connie, "and your Peridot confirmed that, you'd leave? All of you?"

Rose shrugged. "Amethyst could stay on Earth if she wanted to. The Agate overseeing her would thank me for coming back without her, though I don't particularly care one way or another. As I lack a ship with which to return to Homeworld, we'll have to warp back instead."

Jasper beat Connie in raising the objection. "Absolutely not. The Galaxy Warp is an invasion waiting to happen."

Rose's expression was bored. "Didn't you hear, Jasper? The war is over. The Diamonds no longer care about Earth, save for the cluster housed on it. They would no more invade the Earth and storm your temple then you would invade the Moon and storm the Diamond base there. There'd be no point."

Jasper spoke not a word but her expression was the picture of intransigence.

Rose allowed her shoulders to slump and she shot Connie a beleaguered look. "Fine. The important part is that I return with the cluster, not how I return. The Galaxy Warp can be reconfigured to only accept a single warp before being brought offline. Speak with your Peridot to confirm this. Give me the cluster and a single warp of shipwrights and we will leave the Earth with all due haste, never to return."

Jasper started to object but Rose preempted her, saying, "I'm confident you could assemble some sort of suitably brutal trap to push me and obliterate any soldiers if I violated our agreement. I won't even stop you from assembling one, as part of the terms for our truce.” A beat. “To prove my honest intentions."

Jasper glanced at Connie, her mouth a line but no objection rising to her lips.

"Rose," said Connie softly. "I don't trust you. But I don't have to."

The pink gem's eyes narrowed, her lips nearly a snarl, but she didn't lash out. The effect of the Sanctuary, perhaps, or maybe the Quartz really was desperate to avoid an open conflict against Connie and the gems.

"Let me look at your 'scape and I'll know if you're lying," said Connie. "You can summon your bubble first so all I can do is look. Neither Jasper nor I will approach you."

It wasn't actually possible to hate someone in the Sanctuary, at least not with the burning weight of emotion behind it, but the glare Rose gave Connie carried almost the same impact. Slowly, as if the words were difficult to form, Rose said, "On two conditions, Connie."

Connie blinked, surprised. She honestly hadn't expected Rose to agree, even conditionally. "And they are?"

"First, you remove the saber at your hip, the backpack from your back, and anything else you're carrying or wearing," intoned Rose, voice clipped and stern.

"I'm not stripping naked!" objected Connie.

"Even someone fully human wouldn't suffer more than discomfort from a minute of exposure to the Sanctuary's cold," replied Rose.

"It's a matter of dignity, not survival," growled Jasper.

"And I'm not carrying any weapons except the saber," insisted Connie.

"You're seeking assurances since you lack trust," insisted Rose. "It's only fair I receive the same. But fine, I will be satisfied if you wear no more than you were left with aboard the warship."

She'd be left with shirt, pants (pockets emptied), socks, and shoes. It'd be cold but livable, especially given she'd be immune to the chill while viewing Rose's mindscape.

"Fine," agreed Connie. "And the second condition?"

"I want you standing near. If this is some scheme of yours, Connie, I will not let you lurk beyond reach with your thug to protect you," ground out Rose.

This was met with fierce objections at first and it looked for a time like the truce talks would end both swiftly and bitterly. However, after it came out that Rose would, of course, be staying within her own bubble to protect her from Connie's CP power, it was harder and harder for Connie to see a way for this to be weaponized. At least not here, with the Sanctuary rendering them all harmless.

Connie handed her saber and pack to Jasper, then shucked off her coat and the shirt and pant layers beneath that until she was just in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She didn't shiver because you never did in the Sanctuary no matter how cold you got, but on an intellectual level she was aware that she was losing body heat fast.

Hustling into position, Rose encircled herself in a bubble and glared at Connie. In the distance Biggs turned her large head from the letter chart, watching the group.

"Rose Quartz, when I give the signal," instructed Connie, "you'll tell me the following: that if you're given Pink Diamond's shards-"

"The cluster," insisted Rose.

"That if you're given the cluster," continued Connie, "then you'll only seek to leave this planet, never to return, and that you and your subordinates won't seek to harm anyone on Earth during this mission or after." With a gesture to the side, Connie added, "Jasper will be listening on my behalf and will confirm whether you said your part right."

That earned a perplexed glance from Rose but she ultimately gave a nod of agreement.

"Okay, here we go," said Connie and she reached out with that indefinable sense of hers and...

There were three 'scapes visible to Connie. One was Jasper's and Connie was relieved to see the continued inertness of the blasted sections of her pattern. Another was Biggs', and Connie's earlier satisfaction was erased, the sickly green-coated fractal being the literal picture of her failure to overcome corruption. The last was bathed in a pink radiance, a 'scape of beautiful and terrible emotions, all interwoven with a pattern-deep fear, diminished in the Sanctuary but present nonetheless.

Wrenching her attention away from the 'scapes, Connie glanced at Jasper to confirm she was ready then focused on a bitter Rose Quartz, waving at the gem to signal it was time for her to speak her oath.

Shifting back to the pink gem's mindscape, Connie watched the subtle shifts in the fractal pattern, keeping a close eye out for signs of guilt, shame, or malice-tinged glee. There was loathing, subdued by the omnipresent aura. There was a tentative sense of satisfaction which would likely bloom into full elation if allowed, but she'd expect to see that in both a Rose who was triumphant in a scheme accomplished as well as a Rose who was sincerely trying to leave Earth without further fighting. Whatever the case, the lying Connie had seen on the handship had been brazen, unmistakable, and this was nothing like that.

Connie forced her gaze away from the 'scape and back to the real world. Rose had delivered her oath and Connie needed to become tangible again so she could confirm the wording from Jasper.

The pink gem glowered at her while Connie waited in complete silence.

The sensations of the world came rushing back, Connie feeling the cold sweep over her once more. Connie gave Jasper an expectant look.

"She said the oath but added a part," said the Quartz. "Instead of 'if I'm given the cluster then I will only seek to leave this planet,' she added, 'if I'm given the cluster, Pink Diamond's shards, then I will only seek to leave this planet.'"

That seemed redundant and Connie looked over at Rose for explanation, the gem still encased in her protective bubble.

"I was trying to be specific," droned the gem, looking suddenly bored. "Otherwise you could offer me a cluster of grapes and say you'd fulfilled your end of the bargain."

"That's not-" started Connie but Rose interrupted.

"I subjected myself to your intrusions, Connie," and the gem said the name almost like an epithet. "I'm sure you saw how much I detest them, but I did it for the sake of a peaceful resolution. So, did I lie or not?"

"Not that I saw," said the girl in a slow voice, something nagging at the back of her mind.

"Then do we or do we not have a truce?" and Rose crossed large arms across her chest.

The seconds stretched out, the awkwardness bearable only because of the omnipresent aura of calm, Connie trying to nail down the precise reason for her disquiet.

"No," said the girl eventually, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

Rose's brows rose in confusion and then crashed down in reproach, the woman able to fake the outward appearances of deep insult even without the emotional weight behind it. "No?! I've being nothing if not-"

Connie shook her head. "You don't actually need shipwrights. You have Pearl. She built a ship, in secret, out of scrap with only Amethyst for help. If she was working with our assistance, you'd be able to return back to Homeworld space in short order."

Without either speaker paying attention to her, Jasper's expression shifted, first to surprise and then to thought: a preconception challenged and, if not broken then at least loosened.

"I won't deny Pearl's cleverness, but that her vessel made it to Homeworld space intact was as much luck as engineering," challenged Rose. "You're being needlessly-"

Connie shook her head a final time, still looking past Rose and into the distance. "No. What we're discussing is a matter of craftsmanship, not luck. There's no way Pearl, Bismuth, and two Peridots can't make something that will safely get you all back to Homeworld space. Especially not when we've got most of a warship littering half the town. You warping in additional people is unnecessary and exactly the sort of thing that could go terribly, terribly wrong."

She focused on Rose, ignoring the quiet part of her pointing out just how cold she was getting. "I'm sorry. If you're being genuine about all this, I'm sorry. But there's another, safer way, and I won't be pushed into doing otherwise now that I see it."

Rose stared, stunned, perhaps. Enraged beyond words would also have been an option if they were literally anywhere else.

The bubble dissolved and Rose drooped, eyes never straying from Connie's face. "So this has been a farce, start to finish?" The pink Quartz waited just long enough Connie was about to reply when she continued. "I can feel her power's touch, you know. Even through my bubble I could feel it piercing me. It's painful in its way, given the history attached." A beat and then, "Assurances given for trust's absence, and yet all for nothing."

Connie retreated a step and Rose advanced the same, thick curls swaying as she shook her head. The gaze she fixed Connie with was piercing, almost desperate. "Was this all a petty waste? Do you even have her shards?"

"I-" started Connie, eyes wide.

"At least give me that much, that you aren't entirely cruel, merely capricious or too prejudiced for sincere diplomacy," begged the pink Quartz.

Jasper started to advance.

Connie stammered, shook her head, then finally said, "No, it's not that. It's just- Okay, yes. We have the shards. Citrine kept them in case she needed-"

Connie's sentence was cut off by Rose raising fingers to her mouth and blowing a piercing whistle, the shrill noise echoing off the walls and ceiling of the sanctuary. Biggs looked up from her chart to stare in eyeless accusation at the source.

"What was that?" asked Connie. You couldn't really feel the 'up is down' swerve of emotions that was confusion within the Sanctuary, but you could still be intellectually aware of the gaping hole in your understanding.

Biggs, meanwhile, gave an audible huff and turned back to her alphabet board, interest waning.

Rose smiled back warmly. "Why, the signal for the ambush, of course." A large bubble appeared, engulfing Rose and Connie both.


	6. Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal

Jasper had only been a few paces shy of reaching them before the bubble trapped Connie in with Rose.

"Rose!" shouted the warrior, though instead of a hammerblow rocking the bubble there was only a small shove. The most violent thing you could do in the Sanctuary was pick someone up, and gently at that, to carry them to the warp pad and beyond. From there violence would once more possible, but until then you were left with few options. Even punching a wall was beyond doing here, which explained why the Sanctuary grounds were still intact after playing host to corrupted gems for millennia.

Or so Connie thought, because just then there was a bang and one of the sanctum's outer walls shuddered. Lapis' surprised cry followed and was abruptly cut off.

"Jasper," shouted the girl and a corner of her was surprised her voice wasn't super loud in the confined space. Apparently the bubble was more permeable to sound than she'd expected. "Rose can't actually do anything to me. Go! Help the others!"

"Yes, run along, Jasper," taunted Rose, her voice syrupy sweet. As soon as the orange Quartz was through the sanctum doorway, Rose turned to Connie and took a step forward. A vertical force field appeared, effectively bisecting the bubble, Connie in one half, Rose in the other.

"Let me go," commanded Connie. A part of her wanted to snarl the words but she'd have to act the part and she had neither the instinct nor talent... Certainly not like Rose. "Or I will CP you so hard right now."

Rose laughed and it was a laugh perfect for mockery. Was that something Rose Quartz had emerged knowing or had she actually spent the time perfecting the skill? Either way, it spoke poorly of _someone_.

"Go ahead, my dear niece," challenged the gem. "Invade the only sanctum any of us truly have. Attack and win no matter the transgressions committed, as is your birthright."

The monologue was so _much_ that Connie actually faltered for a second, cocking her head and looking at the opponent opposite her. In a voice of sincere curiosity, Connie asked, "Do people actually talk like that in Homeworld space? Is it all purple prose and melodrama out there, or is that just, like, your thing?"

"I-" and this time it was Rose's turn to look lost. "I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted.

Then, through the gap at the top of the Sanctuary's dome where sunlight was filtering in, Connie saw Jasper go flying by, the Quartz giving a surprised 'raaah!' that suffered heavily from the Doppler effect.

Right. Ambush.

Connie started to reach out with that indefinable sense of hers but when she felt only a single 'scape present the effort fizzled like a submerged flame.

You couldn't be confused in the Sanctuary but you could be pretty darn aware of how _that's not what was supposed to happen!_

Rose gave that laugh again, a yellow-tinted smirk visible through the yellow barrier between them. "It was no lie when I said it was painful feeling my sister's power prying at me; deeply, emotionally uncomfortable even if my form is otherwise unharmed. And knowing that in this place? You can't inflict that on me here." Rose loomed at the edge of the force field, her gaze scornful. "That’s the irony of this place: everything you inherited? It was made to hurt, designed to attack and destroy."

For a beat Connie was unsure what to say until she realized she was literally staring at the answer. "Uh, force fields?" and she rapped a knuckle on the barrier for emphasis.

Rose scoffed. "The exception that proves the rule." A shield appeared on her arm. "Want further proof? A gem's weapon is an expression of who they are. I protect, Jasper charges headlong, Lapis is flighty, and Citrine? She created a place where violence was impossible-"

There was another crash outside.

"Or so she thought," taunted the gem. "Show me your weapon, then, and prove to me you're not truly your mother's child."

Connie closed her eyes. She thought of the launch but if the memory was the spark to start a fire, the Sanctuary had robbed her of the kindling to burn. She thought of the lessons with Dr. Brooks --trying to find a healthier trigger for her power-- but she knew in her gut that she wasn't there yet. They'd made progress but therapy was a slow process, less a cure and more giving you the knowledge to treat your own ailments.

Then Connie opened her eyes and she said with a grin, "I don't think my mother gave me anything all that helpful right now, but my mom did."

"Huh?"

"'Drill One-Fourteen: a problem that can't be solved directly nearly always has an indirect solution,'" quoted Connie, her mom's voice audible in her thoughts as the green gem led a younger Connie, Crystal Gem-in-training, through the drills.

Connie was staring directly at Rose but in her peripheral vision she could see Biggs gingerly playing with her chart of letters. Then suddenly a force field appeared, blocking it which prompted the corrupted Jasper to look up at the others. Suddenly Connie had her in, another being in range was looking at her and Connie knew for a fact that her CP power was not harmful to Biggs.

What Rose saw was Connie staring at her and then suddenly going see-through. The pink Quartz gave what looked like a startled yelp and instantly the confining bubble vanished, reappearing around Rose and Rose alone.

 _Wow,_ a corner of Connie observed as her power swiftly healed her physical (if intangible) form. _I was getting_ seriously _cold._ She'd completely forgotten about that in the moment, only noticing it now due to the sudden absence of a bone-deep chill. But rather than ponder that, an immaterial Connie turned and ran, heading for the exit as fast as her ghostly legs would take her.

There was a blur of motion and then the pink-white sphere that was a spin-dashing Rose resolved back into the woman herself, now standing in the doorway like a soccer goalie. Connie summoned a force field to bounce off of, instantly arresting her motion the second her gemstone touched it, then ran the other direction.

By the time Rose spin-dashed passed her a second time, Connie was tangible enough to hear it.

"Clever but futile," taunted the Quartz. "Sooner or later I'll catch you and drag you out of here."

"So I can show you where the shards are? Never!" shouted Connie, backpedaling to keep room between her and the advancing Rose.

"Oh, by the time Garnet is done playing with her toys-" and there was another crash outside. "-You'll be tripping over yourself to give me exactly what I want."

Connie completely failed to gasp in surprise, half because of the Sanctuary and half because she was barely keeping ahead of the outer range of Rose’s bubble. She'd Drill One-Fourteen'd her way past one obstacle but wasn't free yet. Sparing a swift sweep around the area, Connie tried to take stock of her options.

 _Rose is faster and more maneuverable than me, so it's not like I could force field up through the roof and escape. The space is too large to hem her in with fields; I'd pass out before being even a third done. Biggs won't help and the others are apparently being hunted by a Garnet_ who can somehow do that. _I could barricade myself in with fields but that wouldn't be much better than getting bubbled, plus I'd freeze sooner or later. And I can't use any of my other powers without access to negative emotions, and wow do I sound like I'm back in a therapy session._

Scrabbling up onto the platform at the base of her mother's statue, Connie ran between the pillows, trying to keep the statue between her and Rose. She soon came face-to-eyeless-face with Biggs, the alphabet board at the corrupted Jasper's paws. Suddenly Connie had another idea, or the merest flicker of one. Before she had a chance to think if it was actually a _good_ idea or not, she saw Rose leap the statue in a single bound, a pink bird of prey diving at her target.

With a yelp, Connie sprang forward, nearly headbutting the bestial Biggs in her approach. Forehead touching corrupted forehead, Connie's gemstone flared brilliant yellow and she drank deeply from the well of corruption there.

With a force of will, Connie wrested herself away, breaking contact with Biggs. Her ears were ringing shrilly, the start of a nasty headache forming in her skull. She saw that she was inside a bubble with Rose once more but, she thought with savage glee, _that only meant Rose had fewer places to run._

With a genuine snarl, Connie reached for her gemstone -- _Why won't anyone listen to me?! Why is everyone else. So. Wrong?!_ \-- and withdrew her sword, electricity crackling along the length of the blade.

"'Drill One-Fifteen: a problem that can be solved directly should be!'" and Connie charged.

That one had been Jasper's, not Peridot's, and her mental representation of the warrior was grinning wickedly in fang-toothed satisfaction. The bubble dissolved and Rose fled, first at a run and then as a literal pink blur, Connie in pursuit, sword clasped in both hands as a battle cry echoed within the sanctum.

When Connie sprinted out into the light of dawn she was darkly prepared for a great many things. What she saw, however, was Lapis and Peridot sitting on the lip of the Ruby-Sapphire statue, Jasper standing a pace or two behind, while Garnet crashed large rocks together, fragments flying from the force of the blows.

Rose had stopped in her tracks, face the very picture of shock, and Connie slowed, sword lowering slightly, still suffused with enough negative energy she _could_ feel confused and _did._

Oh, was she confused just then.

"Garnet, what-" started Rose before the gem stopped, the mask sliding into place as she went from being utterly bewildered to being a figure of authority. Back straightening, shoulders pulling back, chin raised confidently, she commanded, "As your general, I order you to-"

Whatever Rose was about to say was cut off when Garnet casually pulverized the rocks held in her gauntleted fists, three eyes fixed on Rose. "No," spoke the fusion, not angry or loud but with finality. "You are not my general."

In a blur of motion that was almost too fast for Connie's eyes to track, Garnet rocketed forward. Rose, Connie was convinced, had preternatural reflexes when it came to summoning her protections, a kind of pink-themed spidey sense, because she managed in the very last fraction of a second to summon her shield and meet the blow.

There was a fleeting glimpse of Rose looking none too pleased and then a resounding _'crack'_ as gauntlet struck shield with force enough to punch through reinforced steel. The shield held but the force of the blow sent Rose flying, a pink missile fired from Sanctuary grounds. She arced up and out before finally dropping out of sight below the lip of the Sanctuary, all while spinning end over end.

It was only the lack of a shouted, 'I'll get you next time!' that kept the whole thing from being life imitating anime.

Lapis summoned her wings and was about to chase after the pink projectile when Jasper laid a large hand on her shoulder, muttering something and nodding toward Garnet. Connie would have mulled over the wisdom of holding Lapis in reserve, no doubt in case Garnet proved dangerous to _them_ , but just then she had a more immediate concern. 

Her sword arm limp at her side, blade no longer electrified due to the patient work of the Sanctuary's aura, Connie turned to face the fusion. "What. The heck. Just happened?!" the girl having just enough lingering negative energy to make the sentence half-question, half-swear.

"And why didn't Rose Quartz use her inertial manipulation power to prevent ejection?" added Peridot in a decidedly calmer tone.

To Peridot Garnet said, "The power is grounded in emotion. Positive feelings make her lighter."

Lapis' eyes went wide and a laugh shook her. "Ha! And bad ones make her heavier, which she couldn't do here!" and another cackle followed, the blue gem miming Rose's catapulted departure with considerable glee.

Peridot spared Lapis a parting half-smile before sliding down from the lip of the statue and jogging clumsily into the inner sanctum.

Then Garnet turned to Connie and answered calmly, "Rose wanted me as a contingency: leverage in case she didn't get what she wanted through negotiation."

"Yeah, okay," said Connie, too calm to be properly exasperated. "But how? You aren't supposed to be able to fight here."

"Hot and cold. Aggression and calm." Garnet unsummoned her gauntlets and flipped her palms over to reveal the gemstone in each. "Balancing these forces is part of who I am. Citrine's Sanctuary holds no effect on me."

"How long?" asked the gruff Quartz.

Connie, meanwhile, was surprised when she felt small hands sliding a coat around her shoulders. Once again she realized just how cold she was getting and gladly allowed her mom to bundle her up warmly -- letting her sword drop and dissolve since she couldn't actually use it to fight, at least not unless she was willing to take another swig of corruption. She offered a muttered thanks and a hug by the end.

"Always," answered Garnet.

It was Lapis who carried the conversation to the next stop along the track, asking, "Then why the heck didn't the Schism end after a month with you going all 'Red Wedding' on me, OJ, Citrine, and every other Citrine-loyalist that’d looked at you funny?"

A long second of silence passed, the five of them bathed in dawn's light.

"I offered to," answered the fusion finally. "My general refused. She said that a victory that cost you your principles was a victory only in name." Garnet's face fell. "It's what she'd said on the eve of the Schism too."

"So when Rose came back and asked you to spring the ambush on us..." led Connie in a soft voice.

"That's when I knew that Rose Quartz had returned to Earth but that my general hadn't." Garnet shook her head somberly. "The part that made her greater is gone; the gem who once led me is another of Homeworld's casualties," and the emotion behind the words was a subtle sign she wasn't affected by the aura of calm like they were.

Glancing between Lapis and her mom, Connie asked, "So Garnet never actually attacked you?"

"Ol' triclops gave us a heck of a surprise to start with but then she just started banging rocks to play it up," replied Lapis. "Said you and Rosy had to be left alone so she'd walk into the secret double ambush." The blue gem grinned. "She didn't say anything about you chasing Rose out with a sword, though."

Garnet's mouth became a line, the fusion glancing at Connie and adding, "You are difficult to foresee."

“Thanks?” replied Connie, voice quirking up into a question.

"Jasper wasn't as quickly convinced," said Mom, struggling to get back to her perch at the statue's lip. After a few tries Lapis took pity and hauled her up into place.

Jasper's glare was strictly for show. And if there was anyone for whom being punted over the top of a building counted as a warning shot, Connie had to admit it was Jasper.

"Well, uh, thank you," said the girl sincerely. Then she contemplated the enormity of what would have happened if Garnet hadn't turned on Rose. "Um. A _whole lot,"_ she added.

"Let there be war only against the enemy," answered Garnet.

"I'll drink to that!" cheered Lapis, and the gem took a swig from the canteen on her hip even though it was only filled with water.

Connie hoped it was only filled with water.

"Anyone? No other takers?" Lapis shrugged and took another drink. "Well, since it looks like the G-squad is friendly, I'mma go find that pink pinball and get unfriendly," and with a gesture the water swirled out from the canteen, filling the mallet even as it was telescoping out in Lapis' grip.

"Scouting and harassment only," warned Jasper. "I don't want you within a thousand feet of Rose."

"I gotcha, OJ. Trust me, I learned that lesson good and hard," and Lapis winged up into the air. "I'll just give her and everything in a quarter mile of her a bath while you gals go snag that Pearl of hers."

Garnet visibly stiffened at that, her middle eye wide open while her other eyes shut tight.

"Uhh..." drawled Lapis, hovering uncertainly.

Then all of Garnet's eyes snapped open and she said, "We need to return to the fountain. Quickly!"

Jasper needed only a beat to think before she ran over and picked up Peridot, being mindful of the hodgepodge device the technician had brought with her, then scooped up Connie. "Find Rose," the Quartz barked at Lapis before turning and pursuing Garnet, the two powerhouses crossing the Sanctuary grounds at an inhuman sprint. A moment later, Garnet, Jasper, Connie, and Peridot all vanished in a flash of light.

It was late evening in the aromatic grounds surrounding Rose's fountain. The heat hit Connie like a punch to the face, the magically-enforced calm evaporating swiftly after.

"What's the problem?" asked the girl while struggling with her coat.

"The Pearl," barked Garnet, offering no more explanation while sprinting along the thicket-lined path, heading at full speed to the fountain at the path's end.

With Jasper keeping pace Connie was able to hear that something was wrong before they even entered the fountain's clearing --there was no sound of running water-- though she didn't connect the dots until they came into view of the dry fountain.

Garnet froze, her face unreadable. Or maybe she was combing possible futures for the culprit; Connie wasn't sure.

Jasper set Connie and Peridot down, Connie looking around cautiously while Peridot tottered over to the fountain itself.

"Did-" The events in the Sanctuary were catching up to Connie now and she was feeling, well, quite a lot of things, actually, which was making it hard for her to concentrate. "Did Pearl steal all the water?" That and pulling off her heavy winter layers was distracting.

Peridot clambered up the lip of the fountain only to gracelessly topple into the dry bed beyond with a muted thump. Rising, the green gem turned and began to prod at the back of one of the miniature Rose statues lining the base. Jogging over, Connie saw there was a panel open revealing a collection of tubes and components... as well as a conspicuously large hole where something had once been.

"Healing lacrimal essence," corrected Mom, "and yes. But she also removed several pieces of the fountain mechanisms. I've never had the opportunity to study this device, but at a cursory glance-"

"The fountain can no longer produce healing water," intoned Garnet.

"Attrition," said Jasper, answering the unasked question while pacing the perimeter and keeping keen watch.

Connie blinked and then the puzzle piece fitted into place, the girl finally able to offer a proper gasp at this latest revelation. "Rose is the only one with a source for healing gemstones now! Once we use our last vial then any cracks will be permanent."

"Or until we're willing to negotiate with her for further restoratives," ground out Peridot. "This is a form of long-term leverage Rose will be able to exercise against us."

"Then we don't let her drag this out," graveled Jasper, fists clenched. With a final sweep of the area, Jasper turned to face the still-motionless Garnet. "Do we?"

A beat passed and then Garnet seemed suddenly animate once more, a statue come to life or a seer pulled back from her visions. She looked from Connie to Peridot to Jasper. Then she curled her hands into fists as well, though her shoulders slumped a little. "No, we don't."

The brambles rustled as the light of dusk fell across the four of them.

"I'll need warp access," said the fusion.

Connie was already nodding. "Yeah. We can do that, that's not a problem." She looked at her mom. "That's not a problem, right?"

Peridot fixed Garnet with a long stare before saying slowly, "No, that can be arranged." Turning to Jasper, Peridot said, "It is getting late according to Connie's circadian rhythm. Jasper, please escort her back to the Beach House while I make the necessary configurations for broadening Garnet's use of our warp network. I will rejoin you soon after so we can link up with Lapis and continue our sweep."

Jasper gave a curt nod, already striding over toward Connie. Before Quartz and half-Quartz departed, Connie gave Peridot a final hug and Jasper gave Garnet a curt nod.

True to her word, Connie called Steven the moment after she was back in the Beach House, but Steven had apparently convinced Wolf to howl-portal him to Crossroads where he was in the middle of an epic board game bout with Jeff and Peedee, the two teens having literally nothing better to do while waiting for their Beach City homes to be repaired.

The three (plus Wolf barking in the background) invited her to join them, but, well, it had been _a day_ and even though dusk came early in winter, Connie was feeling drained. She certainly wasn't up for intense socializing and so politely declined.

Instead Connie made herself a simple dinner and read until she passed out, her dreams a turbulent mix of invasions and betrayals and bubbled pink shards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The in-chapter art was drawn by BurdenKing and MJStudioArts.
> 
> In case you're curious, the fact that Garnet was immune to the Sanctuary's effects was foreshadowed in both her sane appearance in a Sanctuary gone haywire in [Ep18Ch2](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13600485/chapters/31608486) and more directly in her appearance in [Ep20Ch3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14123676/chapters/32746779).
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	7. Epilogues

Peridot made a fourth pass, scrutinizing her changes on her ersatz terminal. Matters such as these demanded nothing less than precise and certain work.

Finally satisfied, the short technician set her device aside, dropping it from a few inches up to clatter on the fountain's lip. She winced, lips pursed; she was still not used to her shorter limb length and was reminded on an almost constant basis.

Swallowing a growl, Peridot instead faced the fusion that had been waiting patiently, loitering without hovering. Though, given where she was seated, if anyone was deserving of the appellation of loitering interloper, it would be Peridot: the fountain grounds had effectively been Garnet's home for millennia.

"You're finished," stated the half-Sapphire.

"That is correct," agreed Peridot, the feeling of wind on her limbs a distraction (and ignominy) she was having to consciously ignore. "You will now have access to the full breadth of the terrestrial warp network, with four exceptions. Technically five."

The perma-fusion didn't act surprised, nodding as a wordless request for Peridot to continue.

"The Galaxy Warp and Kindergartens are inaccessible with your credentials," elaborated Peridot. "You will also not be able to warp directly into the Beach House." She kicked her shamefully stunted feet, dangling as they were over the side of the fountain lip. "Should the temple's exterior warp pad somehow be repaired, it will also not be a viable destination for you."

"Thorough," observed the fusion.

As keenly as the absence of her limb enhancers was felt, it was also slightly freeing. Worry for their condition, fretting over their declining functional and aesthetic qualities, had been a more-or-less constant refrain in Peridot's thoughts. Now, though, there was no need. She may have been reduced to a fraction of her former usefulness, but at least one long-running concern had been laid aside.

It made what she was about to say marginally less terrifying.

"Your alliance may be wholly sincere. I possess my doubts but they have proven misplaced at times," conceded the green gem, still working up the courage to speak frankly.

"But you don't trust me." Another statement and an undeniable one.

Back in Homeworld space, Peridot's former technical supervisor had a policy that was loathed by most of her fellow technicians: all imported components of Agate-tier significance or higher had to be tested for defects by the technical staff. Twice. 'Trust, but verify,' the Era-1 Peridot would say, striding tall in front of the assembled staff even without limb enhancers. And while it was tedious work, the fact that Peridot's station was in the top decile for system efficiency and uptime spoke to the merit of it.

"I wish to verify that my trust in you is well-placed," corrected the short gem, feeling simultaneously exposed and beyond harm. "So I will be monitoring your warp usage closely. I have also placed restrictions so that you cannot invoke warp functionality with other gems present, nor can you initiate a warp while a mass greater or smaller than your own is present… with a one percent buffer to account for, say, warping while under precipitation. If you need something or someone conveyed, you may request one of my colleagues to do it for you. Put plainly, if you attempt to warp anyone or if you attempt to warp materials _for anyone,_ you will be denied, I will be alerted, and I will have my verification."

Peridot slid off the lip, steadying herself with one arm before picking up her ersatz terminal. She walked past the impassive perma-fusion, though her shorter stride made it feel like she was moving frustratingly slow. It was only when Garnet was behind her --Peridot even more defenseless and yet somehow feeling emboldened-- that she said her final piece, the technician not looking back as she spoke.

"And when you see the Pearl, please inform her that the maintenance account she was using to access the warp network has been disabled. All accounts not tied directly to an authorized gemstone have been scrubbed from the system."

While updating the warp permissions, Peridot had noticed an entry in the usage log associated with the maintenance account her robonoids used. The timestamp was from shortly after Jasper, Connie, the fusion, and she had arrived at the fountain grounds: the departure point was the fountain and the destination was the Sanctuary.

The mass was in line with the average for a Pearl.

It was possible the servant had slipped past them all and made good her escape while they were investigating the sabotaged fountain, but Peridot assigned that scenario a low weight of probability.

But even if the perma-fusion was complicit, it wasn't certain that she was truly an enemy either. Peridot had, after all, once attempted to contact her Diamond with the intent of explaining the merits a carefully custodianed Earth could offer the empire: a rebel in spirit even if hopelessly naive. She’d been given a second chance: to learn and to prove her true allegiance.

Trust, but verify.

Garnet said nothing and Peridot waited no longer, making her slow and clumsy way to the distant warp pad. 

Along the way she noted the fact that the sensation of grass under her feet had a certain aesthetic appeal. Hardly an important observation, given circumstances, but if anyone wanted to assault her, she was in no place to stop them. She was helpless, and so, paradoxically, she was free.

Maybe later she’d visit Lapis’ room and try running her fingers through the water.

* * *

Hiding among those dreadful brambles had been an indignity made bearable only because her Rose had commanded them to be gentle with her. When Garnet and the Crystal Gems warped over, Pearl had felt a flutter of happiness she'd not expected and she'd had to physically place her hands over her mouth not to make a noise. That had the unfortunate side effect of allowing the brambles to snag into hair, which had made her subsequent departure for the unsupervised warp pad a painful and ignoble affair.

Still, seeing Connie alive and unharmed had released a weight from her shoulders she hadn't realized she'd been carrying: hearing she was well was quite another thing from witnessing it.

Scaling the mountain face down from the Sanctuary wasn't in and of itself difficult, but maintaining the holographic screen while she did made the task trickier. Still, it wouldn't do to be spotted by Lapis Lazuli or any other patrolling Crystal Gem and Pearl had, by this point, an embarrassingly large amount of experience evading detection, all part of the hard-to-believe narrative that her life had become.

If she'd heard back on Homeworld --before her former master and she had ever left for Earth-- what was coming, she would have politely inquired if the gem telling the tale had visited a Kindergartner recently to ensure there was no subtle cracking.

The holographic screen turned out to be an unnecessary precaution, however, as Lapis Lazuli was far away, visible over the ocean surrounding the remote Philippines island they were on. In fact, the blue gem was looking for Rose by lifting up the ocean bed like someone might lift up sofa cushions to look for a lost object. In another context, Pearl would have liked to sit and watch the spectacle of it all.

The mouth to the cave she entered was itself covered by a holographic screen, this one generated by a projector she'd built rather than her own gemstone. The cave was empty --it wouldn't do for Pearl to lead the others directly to Rose if she _had_ been spotted-- but her Rose should be meeting her here in a few hours so she began to tidy up as best she could given the circumstances. No, once the coast was clear -- _Rather literally_ , Pearl dryly observed, indulging in an undignified snort since she was alone-- her Rose would emerge from her own separate, veiled cave and join her.

After using a light-green handkerchief to dust, Pearl debated whether four throw rugs was enough. Then, chiding herself for engaging in pleasure before work, she ceased her interior decorating and sat down at the modest folding table she'd withdrawn from her gemstone all with all the other furniture and decorations. She had tinkering to do, after all. Two holo-pearls were summoned and put to basic tasks while she fiddled with the device taking form under her hands, components and tools pulled from or returned to her gemstone as needed.

She hadn't realized she'd been humming a tune until she heard Rose humming in response. Stars, how had she lost track of the time? _A Pearl is ever punctual or she is no proper Pearl at all,_ she upbraided herself as she stood then bowed to her master.

Rose approached, kissed Pearl atop the gemstone, and then allowed herself to be tended to. While it chipped Pearl's stone to see a beauty like Rose made dirty from clandestine, outdoor activity, that it meant she got to comb out Rose's curls to perfection after was an undeniable treat.

"Patron identified. Welcome. Garnet," said one of the holo-Pearls in a high-pitched monotone. The other one started to say the same but Pearl managed to unsummon it before it could. Needling things. Helpful, but slightly embarrassing when others were around, like cleaning supplies left out where guests could see them.

"Rose. Pearl," said her Rose's fused lieutenant.

"I will confess I was disappointed you weren't able to remove Lapis and Peridot as threats," said Rose, serious but her voice still musical to hear. "Jasper, I could understand being a handful, even in the Sanctuary, but if Connie were denied those two, we'd have a much easier time of things."

Pearl kept her face carefully neutral, never quite knowing how to hold herself around Garnet. There was hardly established etiquette for receiving a fusion, after all.

"That path would have led to disaster," answered the seer.

"Connie," and the distaste in her Rose's voice was uncomfortable to behold, doubly so given the subject.

"As you say," confirmed Garnet.

"Yes, she's a dangerous one to corner, my niece."

"It was still a success. I have been granted more freedom with the warp pads, though Peridot maintained certain restrictions." A beat and then Garnet said, "Your access has been found and removed." 

It took Pearl an embarrassingly long time to realize the statement had been directed at her.

"It has?" Pearl asked, no pillar of witty repartee, she.

The fused lieutenant nodded and said no more.

"What are these restrictions?" asked her Rose.

"I cannot visit the temple, the Kindergartens, the Galaxy Warp-"

Rose sighed. "Yes, that would have been too much to hope for."

"-as well Peridot's garden and a collection of warp pads stretching from the Prime Kindergarten to the Great North."

The corner of her Rose's mouth curled down, a sight which pained Pearl slightly. "And I had such plans after my dear Pearl told me about that garden." She drummed her fingers on her knee. "But while I can fathom all the other restrictions you've mentioned, that last one leaves me guessing."

Garnet offered a small shrug. "Spite. I would often damage Peridot's sensor network in those regions as reprisals for the others encroaching on the fountain grounds."

Rose laughed, a short, sharp chuckle that briefly filled the cave as if the lights had been raised and then dimmed back down. "Lashing out with the toys she still has left. Yes, I can understand that." Rose stepped forward and embraced her lieutenant, saying, "It was a successful mission, even if we're now several contingencies fewer.”

"It's why we have contingencies," answered the fusion. 

Pearl tried to keep the sneer of territorialism off her face as her Rose sustained the hug. When it had first happened after coming into Rose's service, the intensity of it had surprised Pearl and she feared she'd made quite a scene. In her defense, though, that presumptuous, mottled Peridot had been entirely too casual in her dealings with Rose back when they had all still been onboard the zoo station. Chasing her out of Rose’s chambers had been, if anything, a tempered response.

"True," answered her Rose, ending the embrace and stepping back.

If Pearl happened to take a step closer to Rose in that moment, well, that was merely to be on-hand should her master need anything.

"But I feel like you truly sold the performance. I was nearly taken in by it for a moment," and her Rose tittered at the end.

The fusion only gave a courteous nod.

Loathe to do so but compelled toward honesty, Pearl filled the silence by saying, "My Rose, if I am denied warp access then my time table will be pushed back." She clasped her hands in front of her, back straight, head lowered slightly. "Rather severely, I'm afraid. Several of the caches of materials Amethyst and I gathered before departing Earth were quite far removed from here, to say nothing of the complications repeated ocean crossings to and from here would raise."

Rose looked at her long enough that Pearl wanted only to wilt. If anything, she straightened her back further to compensate. Finally her Rose's wordless reproach passed and her master said, "Garnet?"

"I cannot warp others with me or Peridot will be alerted. I cannot bring anything with me either," and if the fusion felt ashamed for her failure, she didn't show it.

"That last restriction?" asked her Rose, the lovely gem pacing the room. Watching her tread the uneven stone cause Pearl to wince inwardly: four throw rugs had indeed been too few.

"Is it about mass or number of objects?" questioned Rose.

"Mass."

"Ah, yes, a very Era-2 mistake to make," observed Rose with a grin.

A beat and then realization spread to Pearl and Garnet both, the latter shrinking down into a form Pearl believed was called 'chibi' if some of the magazines Amethyst had squirreled away seemingly at random were to be believed. Regardless, a reduced Garnet could warp while carrying items enough to make up the difference in mass. Pearl made a mental note to fabricate an accurate, portable scale for the fusion to take with her on her trips.

"I'll have to take a circuitous route, like I'm patrolling," said the chibi-sized fusion. "Otherwise I'll be suspected."

The fact that the words all came out in the same dry, serious tone as Garnet’s full-sized form forced Pearl to suppress a grin. She made a careful examination of the scene so she could reproduce it holographically for Connie --the girl would love it, she was sure-- should the two of them ever have the opportunity for such shared divertments.

She had already filed away many such sights and anecdotes against the bare hope that this would all end amicably, for her and Connie if no one else.

 _And Rose too,_ she swiftly appended.

"Understood," accepted Rose graciously. Then she turned and Pearl instinctively filed all her thoughts and concerns away, her full attention trained on her owner. "My Pearl, you are to change projects."

"My Rose?" she prompted humbly.

"A way is needed to circumvent our restriction on warp travel."

"I-" Pearl had no notion how to actually do that, though several raw ideas sprang to mind. It was never ideas that were in short supply, though. It was the time to sift through the pebbles and find the gems among them. "Yes, my Rose."

Rose spared Pearl a smile and this time the servant didn't bother to hide her happiness. Serving Rose was... exhausting. The highs were very high but on those few times when she'd failed, and failed gracelessly at that, her Rose's scorn had been harsh indeed. Rarely painful, but the anguish more than made up the difference.

But if serving her Rose meant walking a tight rope, exhilaration at the ends and misery below, it was one she would willingly stride.

"My clever Pearl," purred Rose and it set Pearl's form aflutter. Turning back to Garnet, she said, "Keep their trust and keep me informed as the situation develops. For now, though, we will lie low. My Pearl has much work to do and I have much I need to go forth and see."

That sent a cold chill down Pearl's form. Rose going out? Now? Rather than contradict her master, Pearl bowed and asked, "Is there aught I can do to aid you, my Rose?"

"Yes. I will need a pillow and blankets," answered her owner with a smirk.

"I... see," and Pearl bowed again to hide her confusion.

Rose's chuckle filled the cave once more. "Oh, there's quite a bit to be seen while sleeping. Why, I might even look at how the temple has fared following the warship’s crash." She hummed around a smile. "Maybe even check on my dear niece."

* * *

Food helped when you were upset, but Steven mused that friends helped more. It was late, really late... really, _really_ late, but Mom had been fine with it and Steven got the impression he could have stayed up all night so long as he was staying out of Beach City and not on Crystal Gem business.

Steven felt a little bad that Connie hadn't been able to join them but he also felt a little guilty that he felt a little glad that she hadn't. He still thought she was the best, most awesome person in the world, with beautiful, fierce eyes and silky brown hair and a brain that he secretly called a Grinch-brain because it was like the Grinch's heart at the end of the cartoon and had to be, like, three sizes bigger than normal, and she was magical and really wanted to make the world a better place and- and-

And she had this habit lately of ditching him and it kinda hurt.

A lot.

So it had been fun playing games with Peedee and Jeff because they weren't going to get called away on magical destiny business and leave him behind. Plus, Jeff's mom had the most hilarious mugs for drinking tea out of. His had had a picture of people on horseback hitting a beach ball with mallets with the caption, _Water Polo._

He had imagined Lapis playing it but riding on a hippo and had to interrupt the board game for a full three-minute-long giggle break.

Sleepy but satisfied, Steven helped Peedee carry all of his games over to the room in the hotel the Fryman family was staying in. He said goodnight to Peedee, waved goodbye to Mr. Fryman, and promised Ronaldo he'd catch up on his blog.

Steven bid goodnight to the man working the front desk of the hotel, then turned to the large, yellow form dominating one of the lobby couches. The mayor had spoken with the hotel's owner after the first cries of, 'Aaah! Giant wolf!' and since then everyone had learned to pretty much accept the hound. Something about government reimbursement for the hotel owner and 'time and a half' for everyone else, though Steven hadn't understood what that meant exactly.

"You ready to go home, Wolf?" asked the teen.

Wolf snorted, rolling over and off the couch, then padding after the teen. Bringing out his phone, Steven texted his family to let them know he was on his way back, plus or minus a stop at that deli in Empire to get Wolf some 'thanks for ride' sausages. Then Steven noticed he had subscription alerts from _KBCW_.

Steven paged through, liking all the entries even though he thought that Loch Ness monster one looked a lot like a really muddy pool floaty instead of a dinosaur. Then he froze.

On the screen was a picture of a bunch of people riding a roller coaster. Actually, someone had stood in front of that booth at the amusement park where you could buy a picture of yourself riding one of the rides and snapped a picture on their phone of one of the images being previewed.

It showed a purple lady with long white hair and a green lady with robot arms mid-scream while riding The Mountain of Madness, which, a bit of searching revealed was the name of a roller coaster in Massachusetts, not too far north of Empire City, in fact.

The article’s title was _Invasion, tourism from space, or really convincing cosplay?_

If Steven could find P2 and Amethyst on his own, while Connie and the gems were busy trying to renew Earth-Homeworld peace negotiations with Rose, why, he'd be doing Crystal Gem business! And, hopefully, in a way Mom wouldn't recognize as such.

And then Connie, well... Steven frowned and let that thought go like he was shooing Lion out of his lap. Things would be better, was the point.

"Hey Wolf, do you want to be on a secret team with me?" he asked excitedly.

Wolf barked his agreement, sealing the deal by getting ear scratches from Steven.

"Woo! Okay, well let's-" and a prodigious yawn split Steven's face, the sort of yawn where you looked like you were getting your tonsils examined. Wolf even yawned in response, because a yawn like that was super contagious.

"Okay, tomorrow, let's do this!" amended Steven, swinging up onto Wolf's back and thrusting his arms skyward.

They sat stood there in front of the lobby for a few seconds. Well, Wolf stood there while Steven sat. Then Steven looked down to see Wolf twisting around to look back at him intently.

"Oh yeah. First sausage, then secret team stuff!” cheered Steven and this time Wolf met the cry with a lunge and a howl, the two of the charging out for a late night snack and then, after no less than eight uninterrupted hours of sleep, _adventure!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we finally come to the conclusion of _Aftershocks_. Per our schedule, we'll be taking a week off between episodes, so you can expect some omake content to go up this Wednesday. However, join us Wednesday, August 14th for the start of **Episode 37: Injecting Some Fun**
>
>>   
> Just because you're stranded on a hostile planet with an urgent mission to do while being pursued by rebel agents doesn't mean you can't also have a good time.
> 
> I am oh-so-pleased to share an windfall of fan art we've received in the last week or so. The first is entitled _Connie and Yellow Connie_ , drawn by [Monolaf](https://monolaf.tumblr.com/post/186567823584/connie-and-yellow-connie-look-i-know-this-kind-of):  
>   
> You can check out Monolaf's [tumblr page here](https://monolaf.tumblr.com/) to see more art, as well as a bunch of other SU-related goodness. From the whole CS team, thanks to Monolaf for that sweet, surprise pic.
> 
> In contrast, have a sour but fun little recaptioning done by fast friend of the fic, [NeonJohn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonJohn/pseuds/NeonJohn):  
>   
> It's a joke but a joke that rings true. I hope you bought it bulk, Doug.
> 
> And last but absolutely not least, another [NeonJohn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonJohn/pseuds/NeonJohn) pic, this time taking the Ch3 Nokia phone endorsement gag to absurd and superb conclusion:  
>   
> That's too frickin' perfect and I sincerely thank NeonJohn. He is, I suspect, not a man so much as someone who was, like Michelangelo's _David_ , chiseled whole out of something else. Not marble but rather carved from a block of pure awesome. That's my theory, anyway.
> 
> Edit: No bingo this week, but it was a close thing. If only holodeck had been unlocked sooner!  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping track of all the updates to Connie Swap can get a little difficult, can't it? It doesn't have to be! If you go to the [Connie Swap Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/630527) page and click the " **Subscribe** " button then you will receive an email alert every time a new episode is posted or a new chapter is added to _ANY_ fic in Connie Swap.
> 
> One button. All the updates.


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